Los Fresnos, Texas | |
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City | |
Nickname(s): Lost Fresnos | |
Location of Los Fresnos, Texas |
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Coordinates: 26°4′24″N 97°28′41″W / 26.07333°N 97.47806°WCoordinates: 26°4′24″N 97°28′41″W / 26.07333°N 97.47806°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Texas |
County | Cameron |
Area | |
• Total | 3.1 sq mi (7.9 km2) |
• Land | 2.9 sq mi (7.6 km2) |
• Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2) |
Elevation | 23 ft (7 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 5,542 |
• Density | 1,887/sq mi (728.4/km2) |
Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
• Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
ZIP code | 78566 |
Area code(s) | 956 |
FIPS code | 48-44116 |
GNIS feature ID | 1374724 |
Website | www |
Los Fresnos (Spanish for "The Ash Trees") is a city in Cameron County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,542 at the 2010 census, up from 4,512 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville and the Matamoros–Brownsville metropolitan areas.
Located in south-central Cameron County, the city was named for the fresnos (Fraxinus berlandieriana) scattered in the woods and along streams. In 1912, Lon Hill, an early land owner, formed a company to develop a canal system which would use the Rio Grande to irrigate land for farming. Railroad construction in the early 1900s began to bring settlers to the area, and by 1915 a post office was established. Because of the fertile, irrigated land, farm products increased, and with the long growing season in the Rio Grande Valley, farming flourished. Today the city is still surrounded by fertile farm/ranch land. Major crops are cotton, sugarcane, grains, oranges, and red grapefruit.
Los Fresnos is located slightly south of the geographic center of Cameron County at 26°4′24″N 97°28′41″W / 26.07333°N 97.47806°W (26.073216, -97.478164). It is 12 miles (19 km) north of the center of Brownsville and 18 miles (29 km) southeast of Harlingen.