This is the Hidalgo Pump House, a museum on the Rio Grande.
Built in the early 1900's, the steam powered pumps took water from the
Rio Grande to canals irrigating the valley.
What had been a desert became farm land, changing the area forever.
A land speculator took an enormous stalk of sugar cane to the St Louis Exposition in 1904, saying that everything grows bigger in Texas. Farmers began moving to the valley soon after.
Over 40 crops are grown here commercially, with cane now the largest.
The water was pumped north to what is now Edinburg, and gravity pulled it east toward the Gulf of Mexico.
The grounds around the museum are beautifully landscaped.
Look to the back of the photo. See the fence? And the border guards?
Our guide assured everyone that the border was still a half mile away, but nobody walked over for a look. The pump house was built on the river, of course, but a hurricane in 1933 changed the course of the river. When the flooding went down the river had moved south.
Since the river moved this canal had to be dug, bringing water to the pumps.
These are stand pipes, controlling the water flow to the fields. These pipes are everywhere crops are grown. It's rare to be in an open area without seeing a stand pipe, or a dozen of 'em.
The city of Hidalgo has more than a museum to bring it fame.
In 1990 the first Killer Bees found in America showed up in Hidalgo.
They have a big Christmas parade every year here, and one year a Killer Bee was featured on a float. The bee was so popular the city installed it on the courthouse lawn.
I don't know if the lights wrapped around the bee are seasonal or permanent, but isn't it FABULOUS!
One more item off the bucket list!
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