Edinburg, Texas

Edinburg, Texas
—  City  —
Location of Edinburg, Texas
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Texas
County Hidalgo
Government
 • Type Council-Manager
 • City Council Mayor Richard Garcia
Agustin "Gus" Garcia
Noe Garza
Homero Jasso
Elias Longoria
 • City Manager Ramiro Garza, Jr.
Area
 • Total 37.4 sq mi (96.9 km2)
 • Land 37.4 sq mi (96.8 km2)
 • Water 0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation 95 ft (29 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 77,100
 • Density 1,296.9/sq mi (500.7/km2)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes 78539-78541
Area code(s) 956
FIPS code 48-22660[1]
GNIS feature ID 1335095[2]
Website CityOfEdinburg.com

Edinburg is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, Texas, United States.[3] The population was 77,100 at the 2010 census. The University of Texas–Pan American, the only fully accredited four-year university in the Rio Grande Valley, is located in Edinburg.

Edinburg is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas.

Contents

History

In 1908, John Closner, William Briggs, Argyle McAllen, Plutarco de la Viña and Dennis B. Chapin developed a new community (the town square of which is now located at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 281 and State Highway 107). The town was named Chapin in honor of one of the developers. It became the county seat of Hidalgo County in a dramatic, nighttime covert operation in which the county records were removed from the previous county seat, Hidalgo, Texas.[4] When Dennis Chapin was involved in the shooting death of Oscar J. Rountree at the Dan Breen Saloon in San Antonio, Texas,[5] the community changed its name to Edinburg to honor John Young, a prominent businessman who was born in [6] Edinburgh, Scotland. The town was incorporated in 1919.

Geography

Edinburg is located at (26.304225, -98.163751).[7]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 37.4 square miles (97 km2), of which, 37.4 square miles (97 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (0.13%) is water.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1990 36,358
2000 48,465 33.3%
2010 77,100 59.1%

Population as of the census[1] of 2000, there were 48,465 people, 14,183 households, and 11,417 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,296.9 people per square mile (500.7/km²). There were 16,031 housing units at an average density of 429.0 per square mile (165.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.32% White, 0.58% African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 22.67% from other races, and 2.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 88.68% of the population. About 95% of those who selected the "other race" were Hispanic or Latino.[8]

There were 14,183 households out of which 46.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.9% were married couples living together, 19.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.5% were non-families. 15.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.29 and the average family size was 3.71.

In the city the population was spread out with 33.0% under the age of 18, 13.1% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,938, and the median income for a family was $30,634. Males had a median income of $27,505 versus $21,010 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,854. About 25.2% of families and 29.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.2% of those under age 18 and 23.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Colleges and universities

Edinburg is the home of the University of Texas-Pan American and the Rio Grande Bible Institute. Edinburg is also located in the South Texas College District.

Primary and secondary education

Almost all of the city is served by the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District, comprising three high schools, one alternative secondary school, five middle schools, and 20 of the District's elementary schools. A small portion is served by the McAllen Independent School District, including Memorial High School, Lamar Academy, Cathey Middle School, and McAllen's Gonzalez Elementary.

In addition, the South Texas Independent School District operates magnet schools that serve Edinburg. South Texas Business Education & Technology Academy (BETA) is in Edinburg. Students from Edinburg also have the chance to attend other South Texas ISD schools in Mercedes -South Texas High School for the Medical Professions and The Science Academy of South Texas.

The Catholic Diocese of Brownsville operates St. Joseph Catholic School, an elementary and middle school.

Public libraries

The City of Edinburg operates the Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library.[9]

Museums

Edinburg is home to the Museum of South Texas History, formerly the Hidalgo County Historical Museum.

Government and infrastructure

As Edinburg is the county seat of Hidalgo County, most major county offices are located there including the Criminal District Attorney's Office, the District Courts and County Courts at Law of Hidalgo County, the Community Supervision and Corrections Department, the Hidalgo County Juvenile Probation Department, the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Department and the offices of the County Judge, the Tax Assessor/Collector, the County Treasurer, County Auditor and Veterans Services. Hidalgo County Commissioner's Precinct Four represents Edinburg on the Hidalgo County County Commissioner's Court.

Several state agencies have offices in Edinburg. This includes the Thirteenth Court of Appeals, the Texas Attorney General's Child Support Unit, the Texas departments of Health Services, Human Services, Protective and Regulatory Services and Public Safety. The Texas Youth Commission has a facility near Edinburg. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates two facilities, the Lopez Unit and the Segovia Unit, in Edinburg.[10][11]

Congressman Ruben Hinojosa and the Customs and Border Protection have regional offices in Edinburg.

Sports

This city is the home of the Edinburg Roadrunners, an independent league baseball team in the North American League.

Radio stations

Area newspapers

Television

The Edinburg area is served by numerous local television affiliates.

Notes

  1. ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
  4. ^ Edinburg, A Story of a Town, Edinburg Bicentennial Heritage Committee.
  5. ^ San Antonio Light Newspaper December 7, 1911 Page 2
  6. ^ Edinburg, A Story of a Town, Edinburg Bicentennial Heritage Committee.
  7. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
  8. ^ Rodriguez, Clara E. 2000. Changing Race: Latinos, the Census, and the History of Ethnicity in the United States. New York: New York University Press.
  9. ^ "Home." Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library. Retrieved on May 7, 2010.
  10. ^ "Lopez Unit." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 7, 2010.
  11. ^ "Segovia Unit." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 7, 2010.

External links