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C−History
History · Edinburg

Edinburg dates to 1908, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #357 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Edinburg was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Its Register listing is the 1910 Hidalgo County Jail. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1925 on, and the census since 1920.

1908founded
1on the National Register
0.6%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
12famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Edinburg’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Edinburg began

When was Edinburg founded?

1908

Edinburg dates its founding to 1908 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 1,406 in 19202020 census: 100,243118 years

How historic is Edinburg?

C−

More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1908.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Edinburg’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Edinburg is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #357 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Edinburg’s overall grade.
Founding era1908, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.6% of homes (±0.3) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register1 listing, 0.1 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 17%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 44%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Edinburg ranks #352 on History.

Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Edinburg’s 0.1 sits above most of its state (69% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

Newer cities are common at Edinburg’s size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1908.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Edinburg’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Edinburg, and 66 old place names are still on the map.Famous sons and daughtersBobby Pulido, Gabrielle Ruiz and 10 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Edinburg’s post office has been open since 1911. Another post office, Chapin, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Chapin
1908–1911
Edinburg
1911–today
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
281 Estates ColoniaAcacia ColoniaAlbino Rodriguez Estates ColoniaAlma ColoniaAltamira West Number 2 ColoniaAlvacan ColoniaAmericana ColoniaBar Colonia Number 6Bar Number 2 ColoniaBar Number 5 ColoniaBatson Gardens ColoniaBeretta Estates ColoniaBJB ColoniaBorderland Retreat ColoniaCitrus Ranchitos ColoniaClosner ColoniaCotter Tract ColoniaCrouse ColoniaDoolittleEl Seco ColoniaEvangeline Gardens ColoniaFloresta ColoniaFoster ColoniaGate City Acres Colonia
Gone or out of use
Edinburg Gas FieldoilfieldEdinburg Yardlocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Edinburg
Hillcrest Memorial ParkOld Edinburg

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Famous people

12 famous people were born in Edinburg

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Bobby PulidoAmerican singer · b. 1971
Gabrielle RuizAmerican actress · b. 1984
Alfredo Cantu GonzalezMarine Corps Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1946
C
Cecilia L. RidgewayAmerican sociologist · b. 1947
Terry CanalesAmerican politician · b. 1979
Cynthia MulrowAmerican physician · b. 1953
The story

How Edinburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Edinburg.

Read it all →

In 1908, John Closner, William Briggs, Argyle McAllen, Plutarco de la Viña, and Dennis B. Chapin began to develop a new community at this site. The town square was located at the current crossroads of U.S. Highway 281 and State Highway 107. The town was named "Chapin" in honor of one of the developers. A local myth relates that Edinburg 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. However, historical records show more practical reasons. The 1886 Hidalgo County Courthouse in the city of Hidalgo was under frequent danger of flooding because it stood just a few yards away from the banks of the Rio Grande. Additionally, the county was over 80 miles (130 km) long at this time, and state law required that the courthouse be close to the geographic center of a county. A wood-frame court…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Edinburg, 1908 to 1984

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1908
    FoundingEdinburg is established
  3. 1908Post officeThe Chapin post office opens
  4. 1911Post officeThe Chapin post office closes
  5. 1911Post officeThe Edinburg post office opens
  6. 1939In the archiveYoung Mexican boy pulling and bunching carrots near
  7. 1946Born hereAlfredo Cantu Gonzalez is born here
  8. 1947Born hereCecilia L. Ridgeway is born here
  9. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1971Born hereBobby Pulido is born here
  11. 1984Born hereGabrielle Ruiz is born here
By decade

Edinburg, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s11 items
Young Mexican boy pulling and bunching carrots near1939Young Mexican boy pulling and bunching carrots nearBunching carrots1939Bunching carrotsChildren of migrants1939Children of migrantsPulling carrots near Edinburg, Texas1939Pulling carrots near Edinburg, TexasTying carrots, near Edinburg, Texas1939Tying carrots, near Edinburg, TexasMexican carrot worker1939Mexican carrot workerMexican carrot worker. Edinburg, Texas1939Mexican carrot worker. Edinburg, TexasMexican carrot worker. Edinburg, Texas1939Mexican carrot worker. Edinburg, TexasMigrant father and son1939Migrant father and sonTrailer of migrant family1939Trailer of migrant familyMigrants car and tent1939Migrants car and tent
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Edinburg on the map, 1963 to 2002

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Edinburg. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Edinburg on the 1963 USGS mapEdinburg on the 1983 USGS mapEdinburg on the 2002 USGS map1963Edinburg sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Edinburg.

Every building

Edinburg, building by building, 1925

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Edinburg fire insurance map, 1925, sheet 11925Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Young Mexican boy pulling and bunching carrots near
Retake this viewYoung Mexican boy pulling and bunching carrots near, 1939

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Edinburg’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Edinburg

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2020
1910 Hidalgo County Jail
1910 Hidalgo County Jail
Buildings
1910 Hidalgo County JailBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Edinburg, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000192019401960198020002020100,243

Grew from 1,406 people in 1920 to 100,243 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Edinburg’s Wikipedia page.

Help out

Finish Edinburg’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewYoung Mexican boy pulling and bunching …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

MurilloIts storyDCésar ChávezIts storyDDoolittleIts storyDMcAllen5 historic placesC−LopezvilleIts storyD

Questions about Edinburg’s history

What year was Edinburg founded?

In 1908, according to Wikidata. Edinburg’s post office opened in 1908, and the census of 1920 counted 1,406 people here.

How does Edinburg rank for history?

Edinburg is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #357 of 642 in Texas. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Edinburg?

One place: the 1910 Hidalgo County Jail (listed 2020).

How old are the homes in Edinburg?

0.6% of Edinburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2003.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (10), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.