Rio Grande City
| Rio Grande City, Texas | |||||
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| City | |||||
| City of Rio Grande City | |||||
Santa Cruz at Rio Grande City, Texas, Plaque describing the history of Rio Grande City, Texas, Plaque of the Old Rio Grande City Cemetery
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| Nickname(s): "RGC" | |||||
 Location of Rio Grande City in the U.S. state of Texas |
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| Coordinates: 26°22′50″N 98°49′6″W / 26.38056°N 98.81833°WCoordinates: 26°22′50″N 98°49′6″W / 26.38056°N 98.81833°W | |||||
| Country | United States | ||||
| State | Texas | ||||
| County | Starr | ||||
| Government | |||||
| • Mayor | Joel Villarreal | ||||
| • Police chief | Noe Castillo | ||||
| Area | |||||
| • Total | 11.4 sq mi (30 km2) | ||||
| • Land | 11.4 sq mi (30 km2) | ||||
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0 km2) | ||||
| Elevation | 174 ft (53 m) | ||||
| Population (2010) | |||||
| • Total | 13,834 | ||||
| • Density | 1,200/sq mi (470/km2) | ||||
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) | ||||
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) | ||||
| ZIP code | 78582 | ||||
| Area code(s) | 956 | ||||
| FIPS code | 48-62168 | ||||
| GNIS feature ID | 1388199 | ||||
| Website | http://www.cityofrgc.com/ | ||||
Rio Grande City is a city in and the county seat of Starr County, Texas. The population was 13,834 at the 2010 census. The city is 41 miles west of McAllen. The city also holds the March record high for the United States at 108 degrees Fahrenheit. The city is connected to Camargo, Tamaulipas, via the Rio Grande City-Camargo International Bridge.
The area around Rio Grande City was first populated in 1846, when it served as a transfer point for supplies and soldiers supporting General Zachary Taylor’s invasion of Mexico. It was a logical point for trade, as it was the highest point up the Rio Grande (known as the Rio Bravo in Mexico) for reliable steamboat traffic, and intersected a number of overland routes to Saltillo, Monterrey, and Northern Mexico.
During the early stages of the Mexican-American War, one of the soldiers stationed here, Henry Clay Davis, married Hilaria de la Garza Falcon, a resident of Camargo and heiress to the land on which Rio Grande City now sits. At the end of the war, Davis set out to organize this area into a formal city, breaking up the land into plots. At first, the area was referred to as “Rancho Davis” then the name was changed to “Rio Grande City” to encourage investors and settlers. From its founding, in 1848, until the Texas Mexican Railroad opened up in 1883, Rio Grande City was one of the most significant hubs of trade between Texas and Mexico, and was one of the major contemporary contributors to the American romanticized concept of the "wild West".
Famous early residents include: Joshua H. Bean, brother of Judge Roy Bean, and the first mayor of San Diego, CA; Orlando C. Phelps, one of the few surviving members of the Mier Expedition; Edwin R. Rainwater, hero of the Texas Revolution; Edward R. Hord, an influential early South Texas statesman; and John L. Haynes, a native Virginian politician and writer who was an outspoken anti-secessionist and strong proponent of Mexican-American rights.
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