Hidalgo-Reynosa Bridges
Hidalgo, Hidalgo County, Texas
Marker Inscription
At the time of the formation of Hidalgo County in 1852, the village located here, originally named Edinburgh, became the new county seat. A ferry service was operating between the village and Reynosa, Mexico. By 1861 the town's name was changed to Hidalgo, and regular ferry service was inaugurated in 1910 by Crisoforo Vela (1856-1932). First using rowboats and, later, raft-like conveyances, the ferry continued in operation until Joe Pate erected a bridge here in 1926. The 1926 suspension bridge was damaged by floods in 1933. Although rebuilt and strengthened, it fell into the river and was destroyed in 1939 after cable anchors on the U.S. side failed to hold. A second suspension bridge was erected the following year and purchased by the city of McAllen in 1960. A four-lane prestressed concrete bridge was opened to traffic on June 1, 1967. The suspension bridge was removed for salvage in 1971. Construction of an additional four-lane bridge was completed in 1988. For over six decades, the Hidalgo-Reynosa bridges, operated jointly by McAllen, Hidalgo, and Mexican interests since 1960, have facilitated transportation and fostered international cooperation and friendship between Texas and Mexico. (1989)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When Hidalgo County formed in 1852, the village here—first called Edinburgh—became county seat, linked to Reynosa, Mexico, by ferry. Renamed Hidalgo by 1861, the crossing gained regular ferry service in 1910 under Crisoforo Vela, first by rowboat and later by raft, until Joe Pate built a suspension bridge in 1926. Flood-battered spans came and went across the decades, giving way to modern concrete bridges in 1967 and 1988 that carry traffic between the two nations.
Why it matters
For more than a century these crossings have knit Texas and Mexico together, turning a river ferry into a symbol of international commerce and cross-border friendship.
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Related people
- · Crisoforo Vela
- · Joe Pate
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Old Hidalgo County Courthouse
Hidalgo, TX
Raised in 1886 from brick made across the river in Reynosa, Mexico, this building served as Hidalgo County's courthouse until the county seat moved to Edinburg in 1908. Originally a two-story structure crowned with a cupola, it lost its upper floor and roof to an early twentieth-century fire. In later years it found new purpose as an immigration and customs facility on the border.
Former Hidalgo Post Office
Hidalgo, TX
Built in 1889 to house a general merchandise store, this modest building set aside one corner for the town's postal service — a common arrangement on the Texas frontier, where the store was the heart of a community. It served as Hidalgo's post office until 1913, with storekeeper William Odell, his wife Josephine, and Gumaro Rodriguez among those who kept the mail moving. It is celebrated as the oldest surviving post office building of its kind.
Hidalgo Irrigation Pump Plant
Hidalgo, TX
Until the early 20th century, the semi-arid Lower Rio Grande Valley was fit mainly for cattle grazing. In 1909 a steam-powered pump rose here to lift Rio Grande water onto some 40,000 acres, and expansions in 1911–12 by the Louisiana-Rio Grande Canal Company carried irrigation to the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo district. Sold to a county water district in 1920, the plant kept pumping until an all-electric station replaced it downstream in 1983.
Vela Building
Hidalgo, TX
In 1904 Crisoforo Vela and his wife Florinda moved to Hidalgo, and within a few years he took over the ferry and rowboat service linking the town with Reynosa, Mexico. That river crossing was a key commercial artery in the early growth of the Rio Grande Valley, and the Vela family ran it until the first Reynosa–Hidalgo bridge opened in 1926. Vela lived in this house until his death in 1932, and it has remained in his family for generations.