La Feria, Texas

Everything La Feria is known for

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Music in La Feria

Songs About La Feria

leavin' texas
jerry jeff walker
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Rivers & Roads in Song near La Feria

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near La Feria.

Rio Grande / Río Bravo 163 songs Rio Grande / Río Bravo 250 songs

History of La Feria

Making the Desert Bloom RoadyGoat

The green fields around La Feria aren't a miracle of nature; they're a marvel of engineering. When developers arrived here just after 1900, this was semi-arid brushland, and the key to unlocking it was water from the Rio Grande, miles away. Beginning about 1908 the La Feria Mutual Canal Company started selling small tracts to farmers on the agreement that they'd rent their water by the year, and land developer G. J. Schoenberg laid out the town itself in 1909. The infrastructure was the whole enterprise: an inlet channel cut from the river about seven miles south of here, a riverside pumping plant, and relift plants that hoist the water an average of twenty feet up out of the channel and into the distribution system. From there it runs by gravity through big earthen main canals, and from those arteries smaller and smaller lateral ditches branch out to individual farm plots. That intricate system, engineered over a century ago and still run today as an irrigation district, is the hidden machine that changed the ecology of this region and made La Feria possible.

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The Storm That Broke the Valley RoadyGoat

In early September 1933, a monstrous hurricane slammed into the Rio Grande Valley, and La Feria was right in its path. It was one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the region. Winds howled at over 120 miles per hour, and the storm surge pushed saltwater miles inland. For La Feria, the devastation was absolute. The town's lifeblood—the citrus industry—was wiped out. Entire groves of mature, fruit-laden grapefruit and orange trees were uprooted or stripped bare. Packing sheds were flattened, and homes were destroyed. It was an economic catastrophe that took years to recover from. Older residents passed down stories of the storm's fury for generations. While the groves were eventually replanted, the 1933 hurricane remains a powerful memory in the town's history, a reminder of nature's power and the community's ability to rebuild from nothing.

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La Feria, TX RoadyGoat

La Feria's always been a town tied to the land, and you can still smell the citrus blossoms hanging in the air during the right season. But lately, folks have been talking less about the next harvest and more about the water. See, the Arroyo Colorado, that little waterway that snakes its way past town on its way to the Laguna Madre, it's been changing. Not just the usual ebb and flow, but something more. For years, everyone just took it for granted. It was there, it drained the fields, it was part of the scenery. But after a couple of those really dry years, when the cotton struggled and even the grapefruit seemed a little smaller, people started paying closer attention. The water level dropped, and then the salinity started to creep up. Now, there's talk about stricter irrigation, about new canals, about maybe even switching to crops that need less water. It's a big deal, because if the Arroyo Colorado changes too much, it changes everything about La Feria. It's just not La Feria anymore.

Hinojosa de Ballí, Rosa María

1776

Rosa Hinojosa de Ballí, a rancher known as La Patrona and the first "cattle queen" of Texas, was born in 1752 in what is now Tamaulipas, Mexico. She was the sixth of the nine children of Capt. Juan José de Hinojosa and María Antonia Inés Ballí de Benavides, Spanish aristocrats whose status as Primitive Settlers gave them priority rights to extensive land grants and public offices. The family moved to Reynosa in 1767, after Hinojosa was appointed alcalde , and joined the elite group of wealthy families who controlled the jurisdiction. Rosa María was educated in Reynosa, probably by the parish priest. She married José María Ballí, a captain of the militia; one of their three sons was José Nicolás Ballí , missionary developer of Padre Island . Captain Ballí and his father-in-law applied jointly for a large land grant in the La Feria tract. Their document, which acknowledged them as "original principal settlers," was dated July 4, 1776, the same date as the declaration of American Independence. Both men, however, had died by the time the grant was approved in 1790. Ballí's will specified that Rosa María was to inherit his share of twelve leagues (55,000 acres). When Doña Rosa took over the estate it was heavily encumbered with debts; by the time of her death thirteen years later, she had doubled the property and made extensive improvements to the La Feria grant. Skillfully and deliberately, she built up her landholdings. In the name of her brother Vicente she financed an application for thirty-five leagues of land in the Las Mesteñas tract. When the grant was approved, Vicente transferred title of twelve leagues to her, and she named the property Ojo del Agua, but that gift was never recognized by the state and the tract subsequently became Texas school lands. She applied in the name of her son Juan José for seventy-two leagues in the San Salvador del Tule grant and bought the Las Casteñas tract from the original grantees for her son José María. She made a joint application with her son Padre Nicolás who eventually became her business associate, for eleven leagues of what is now Padre Island. When reapplication was required in 1800, Doña Rosa withdrew her name in favor of her grandson. She oversaw her lands from her La Feria ranch headquarters, La Florida, in what is now Cameron County. She amassed large herds of cattle, horses, sheep, and goats, and her ranches were territorial landmarks. Doña Rosa was perhaps the most influential woman of her time and place. She took full advantage of the opportunities that only widows could enjoy in Spanish society. Devoutly Catholic, she built and maintained a family chapel and endowed churches in Reynosa, Camargo, and Matamoros. At the time of her death in Reynosa in 1803, she owned more than a million acres of land in the lower Rio Grande valley, and her holdings extended into the territories of present-day Hidalgo, Cameron, Willacy, Starr, and Kenedy counties.

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Longoria, Rosalio, House

1909

The oldest residence in La Feria. Built in 1909 by local carpenter Felipe Perez for Rosalio Ponce Longoria (1872-1965), a contractor who cleared land for developers to build railroads and other Rio Grande Valley improvements. His board and batten house originally had two main rooms, two small bedrooms, the long front porch and a kitchen with brick chimney for a wood burning stove. The bathroom, a small porch, and the little family room were added about 1950.

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La Feria

1777

Site is on land surveyed 1777 for Spain's grants to Don Juan Hinojosa and Jose Mari Balli, ancestors of priest for whom Padre Island was named. Rancho raised cattle, sheep, goats. By 1790's it had a fairground (Hence name, La Feria) for Fiestas, horse racing, and other sports. After Mexican War (1846-48), Balli heirs had title confirmed by Texas. In 1850, Nathaniel White (d. 1901), cattleman and reputed smuggler, opened anglo ranching here. In 1906, townsite of La Feria was platted under original name. It is now a trade center for a thriving agricultural area.

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Solis Cemetery

1840

JUAN JOSE SOLIS, GRANTEE OF PORCIÓN 107 IN STARR COUNTY AND FOUNDER OF EL SOLISEÑO, MEXICO, WAS PATRIARCH OF THE SOLIS FAMILY IN THIS AREA. HIS GRANDSON FRANCISCO (1801-1876), AND HIS WIFE ANASTACIA RIVAS DE SOLIS (b. 1808), WERE EARLY RESIDENTS OF POINT ISABEL AND BROWNSVILLE, LATER SETTLING IN LA FERIA. THEIR SON LAZARO (1840-1904) AND HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW YSABEL CANTU (b. 1849) BOUGHT ABOUT 5,000 ACRES OF THE LA FERIA GRANT IN JULY 1898, ESTABLISHING THE SOLIS RANCH. WITHIN ITS BOUNDARIES THE MEN AND THEIR FAMILIES RAISED CATTLE, HORSES AND GOATS AND GREW SEVERAL CROPS. WHEN LAZARO DIED SUDDENLY WHILE VISITING FAMILY IN POINT ISABEL, HIS BODY WAS BROUGHT BACK TO THE RANCH FOR BURIAL, A COMMON PRACTICE IN THAT ERA. HIS IS THE FIRST BURIAL IN SOLIS CEMETERY, ALSO KNOWN AS SAN FRANCISCO CEMETERY. IN 1905, LAZARO’S WIDOW FRANCISCA (1853-1911) PARTITIONED LAZARO’S LAND AMONG HERSELF AND HER SEVEN CHILDREN. LAZARO AND FRANCISCA’S HAND-LETTERED CONCRETE SPANISH-LANGUAGE GRAVE MARKER IS SIGNED “JUAN, MATEO AND GUMERCINDO DEL MÍSMO APPELÍDO” ([SONS] JUAN, MATEO AND GUMERCINDO OF THE SAME LAST NAME). IN 1929, SOLIS CEMETERY WAS SURVEYED AND PLATTED AND A PUBLIC ROAD WAS DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE ACCESS. THE CEMETERY IS AN ACTIVE FAMILY BURIAL GROUND OF MORE THAN THREE ACRES. SPARSELY SHADED BY MESQUITES AND OTHER NATIVE TREES, THE CEMETERY HAS MORE THAN 300 GRAVES, MOST OF WHICH HAVE MARKERS OF WOOD, STONE, BRONZE OR CONCRETE. SOLIS CEMETERY IS THE FINAL RESTING PLACE OF KNOWN AND UNKNOWN PEOPLE OF HISPANIC, ANGLO AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN DESCENT, AND AS MANY AS FIVE GENERATIONS OF THE SOLIS FAMILY. VETERANS OF WORLD WAR II AND THE KOREAN WAR ARE BURIED HERE. THIS BURIAL GROUND IS TESTIMONY TO GENERATIONS OF LOCAL RANCHING AND FAMILY TRADITIONS. HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY – 2002

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Rio Grande Valley League

1931

The Rio Grande Valley League (RGVL) was a short-lived minor baseball league that existed for three seasons (1931, 1949, and 1950). Road trips were always short, as all the teams were located between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. Given the low populations of the cities involved (McAllen, Corpus Christi, Harlingen, and San Benito) in the 1931 season, it is not surprising that the league was Class D, the lowest classification in organized baseball at the time. The largest town in the league was Corpus Christi (with a population of 27,741 in 1930). Despite this advantage, the team could not sustain itself there. On June 5, with a record of 20-23, it moved to the small, unincorporated town of La Feria (though it played its home games in Harlingen). Rising from Class D minor league ball to the big leagues was rare, but Johnny Rizzo, who played for the Corpus Christi/La Feria team, managed to beat the odds. Rizzo played three seasons (1934-36) with his hometown team, the Houston Buffaloes of the Texas League, and reached the major leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1938. He also played for the Cincinnati Reds, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Brooklyn Dodgers. The 1931 RGVL pennant was won by the McAllen Palms with a 55-37 record. Led by manager Tex Covington, a former Detroit Tigers pitcher, the Palms also prevailed in the playoffs by sweeping La Feria. Due to the Great Depression , the league folded after one season. While home runs had become increasingly common during the previous decade, the RGVL appeared to be stuck in the dead-ball era. The league's home run leader was McAllen's Harry Bonds, who struck just eight round-trippers. The RGVL (still rated Class D) did not resume play until 1949 when minor leagues were enjoying a post- World War II surge in popularity. Corpus Christi and McAllen returned, while Laredo, Brownsville, Del Rio, and Donna were added to the league. The Corpus Christi Aces won the pennant handily (nine games over the second-place Laredo Apaches) and swept the McAllen Giants and the Brownsville Charros in the playoffs. Corpus Christi also led the league in total attendance (97,192). Donna was the smallest venue in the league (it had a population of 7,171 in 1950) and also had the weakest team. On June 6 the team moved to the marginally larger town of Robstown. The results on the field were dismal at both locations. The team finished at 45-93, forty-three games behind Corpus Christi, and with a composite attendance of 19,753. The power shortage of 1931 was long gone, however, with Don Petschow of Brownsville leading the league with twenty-eight home runs. In 1950 the league expanded to eight teams and was upgraded to Class C. At the beginning of the season, Laredo was managed by Leonardo "Leo Najo" Alanís. With a long semi-pro and professional baseball career in both the United States and Mexico, he was inducted into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame ( Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Mexicano ) in its inaugural year of 1939. Another marquee name in the league was Greenville-raised Monty Stratton , the one-legged former major leaguer, who hyped attendance in Corpus Christi and Brownsville by pitching in one game for each franchise. One of the leading players of the 1950 season was Joe Koppe of the Corpus Christi Aces. Nineteen years old at the time, Koppe eventually played eight seasons in the major leagues. Another standout was pitcher Dick Midkiff of the Del Rio Cowboys. Though his major league career consisted of just thirteen games for the Boston Red Sox in 1938, the former University of Texas Longhorn led the RGVL with twenty-two wins in 1950. At age thirty-five, he enjoyed the best season of his thirteen-year minor league career. The league returned to six teams shortly after the season began. The Donna-Weslaco Twins withdrew from the league on May 4, and the Robstown Rebels folded on May 13. Led by Jesse McClain, who led the league in home runs (fifty-three) and runs batted in (1

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Things to Do in La Feria

historical 10.3 mi away
Weslaco, Texas (c. 1939, Russell Lee)

Everything Near La Feria

256 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the nearest 200 are listed here — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

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