San Benito, Texas
| San Benito,§ Texas | |
|---|---|
| City | |
| City of San Benito | |
| Nickname(s): "The Resaca City" | |
 Location of San Benito, Texas |
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| Coordinates: 26°8′12″N 97°38′9″W / 26.13667°N 97.63583°WCoordinates: 26°8′12″N 97°38′9″W / 26.13667°N 97.63583°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Cameron |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-Manager |
| • City Council | Mayor Celeste Sanchez |
| • City Manager | Manuel Lara |
| Area | |
| • Total | 16.1 sq mi (41.8 km2) |
| • Land | 15.8 sq mi (40.9 km2) |
| • Water | 0.3 sq mi (0.9 km2) |
| Elevation | 36 ft (11 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 24,250 |
| • Density | 1,536/sq mi (592.9/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 78586 |
| Area code(s) | 956 |
| FIPS code | 48-65036 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1375956 |
| Website | www |
San Benito is a city in Cameron County, Texas, United States. The population was 24,250 at the 2010 census. On April 3, 2007, San Benito celebrated the 100th anniversary of its naming.
The post office was named "Diaz" from April to May 1907. The San Benito Museum, Freddy Fender Museum and Conjunto Music Museum opened in the same building Nov. 17, 2007.
On October 25, 1975, on the television show Hee Haw, Freddy Fender saluted his hometown of San Benito, population 15,177.
San Benito is part of the Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville and the Matamoros–Brownsville metropolitan areas.
San Benito is known as the "Resaca City". The de los Fresnos, 400-foot (120 m) wide, flows through the city. As indicated by its Spanish name, the resaca was a dry river bed. It is now the main canal of a large irrigation system.
San Benito was at first named "Diaz" in honor of Porfirio Díaz, president of Mexico at that time. The people in the San Benito area were predominantly of Mexican ancestry. The Anglo settlers came after the completion of the first irrigation system in 1906. Prior to that time, this region was an arid, mesquite-cactus-brush covered wilderness. Irrigation water touched off the crop production magic in the railroad.
On July 4, 1904, the first passenger train arrived at Diaz. To celebrate the coming of the new railroad, the community leaders renamed the railroad station "Bessie", in honor of Bessie Yoakum, whose father, Benjamin Franklin Yoakum, was instrumental in the construction of the railroad.
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