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C−History
History · Weslaco

Weslaco dates to 1919, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #332 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Weslaco was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Its Register listing is the Cortez Hotel. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1925 on, and the census since 1930.

1919founded
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Weslaco’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Weslaco began

When was Weslaco founded?

1919

Weslaco dates its founding to 1919 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 4,879 in 19302020 census: 40,160107 years

How historic is Weslaco?

C−

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1920.
History grade

What drives Weslaco’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Weslaco is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #332 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 Weslaco’s overall grade.
Founding era1919, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19401.9% of homes (±0.9) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 0.2 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 20%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 48%

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 Weslaco’s 0.2 sits above most of its state (69% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1919.

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 Weslaco’s past

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

Lost villages23 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Famous sons and daughtersDavid Spielberg, Omar Figueroa and 7 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Weslaco’s post office has been open since 1920.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Anaqua Addition ColoniaAngela ColoniaBellaire ColoniaCitrus Retreat ColoniaCuellar Colonia Number 3Cuellar Colonia Number 4Dellinger ColoniaDiana Colonia Number 1Diana Colonia Number 2Diana Colonia Number 3Encino Number 1 ColoniaExpressway Heights ColoniaHeritage Square Number 2 ColoniaOlivarez Number 1 ColoniaOlivarez Number 5 ColoniaRamosville ColoniaRoosevelt School ColoniaSouth Palm Gardens Estates Number 1 ColoniaSouth Palm Gardens Estates Number 2 ColoniaSun Country Estates ColoniaWest Highway ColoniaWestgate Estates ColoniaWildwood Forest Colonia
1cemetery inside Weslaco
Weslaco

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

Famous people

9 famous people were born in Weslaco

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

See all →
David SpielbergAmerican actor · b. 1939
O
Omar FigueroaAmerican boxer · b. 1989
B
Brandon FigueroaAmerican boxer · b. 1996
Natalia AncisoChicana-Tejana visual artist · b. 1985
N
Nora Chapa MendozaAmerican artist · b. 1932
A
Armando MartinezAmerican politician · b. 1976
The story so far

Weslaco, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Weslaco yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Weslaco ( WESS-lə-koh) is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 41,103, Studies from 2023 show the population is 43,053 and in 2020 the estimated population was 40,160. It is at the southern tip of Texas in the Rio Grande Valley near the Mexican border, across the Rio Grande from the city of Nuevo Progreso, Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas. Weslaco derives its name from the W.E. Stewart Land Company. It was the hometown of Harlon Block, one of the Marines photographed raising the flag at Iwo Jima, and of film and television actor David Spielberg.

Weslaco was established in 1919. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 35,670 to 40,160 (+13%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Weslaco, 1919 to 1996

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1919
    FoundingWeslaco is established
  3. 1920Post officeThe Weslaco post office opens
  4. 1939In the archiveChild of white migrant worker in front of trailer home, Weslaco, Texas, 8a24960
  5. 1939Born hereDavid Spielberg is born here
  6. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1985Born hereNatalia Anciso is born here
  8. 1989Born hereOmar Figueroa is born here
  9. 1996Born hereBrandon Figueroa is born here
By decade

Weslaco, decade by decade

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

1930s6 items
Child of white migrant worker in front of trailer home, Weslaco, Texas, 8a249601939Child of white migrant worker in front of trailer hom…Child of white migrant worker in front of trailer home, Weslaco, Texas, 8a249601939Child of white migrant worker in front of trailer hom…Migrant white mother washing clothes in front of tent home. Weslaco, Texas. See general caption1939Migrant white mother washing clothes in front of tent…Sign. Weslaco, Texas1939Sign. Weslaco, TexasSign near Weslaco, Texas1939Sign near Weslaco, TexasPacking grapefruit. Weslaco, Texas1939Packing grapefruit. Weslaco, Texas
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

Weslaco on the map, 1956 to 2002

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

Weslaco on the 1956 USGS mapWeslaco on the 1970 USGS mapWeslaco on the 1983 USGS mapWeslaco on the 2002 USGS map1956Mercedes 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 Weslaco.

Every building

Weslaco, 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.

Weslaco fire insurance map, 1925, sheet 11925Sheet 1 of 6
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.

Child of white migrant worker in front of trailer home, Weslaco, Texas, 8a24960
Retake this viewChild of white migrant worker in front of trailer home, Weslaco, Texas, 8a24960, 1939

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Weslaco

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
2004
Cortez Hotel
Cortez Hotel
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Spanish Colonial Revival1
All 1 listings
Cortez HotelBuilding · listed 2004

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

People over time

Weslaco, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,0001940196019802000202040,160

Grew from 4,879 people in 1930 to 40,160 in 2020, 8 times over.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Weslaco’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 viewChild of white migrant worker in front …: 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.

Llano GrandeIts storyD−Midway SouthIts storyDMidway NorthIts storyDMila DoceIts storyC−MercedesIts storyD

Questions about Weslaco’s history

What year was Weslaco founded?

In 1919, according to Wikidata. Weslaco’s post office opened in 1920, and the census of 1930 counted 4,879 people here.

How does Weslaco rank for history?

Weslaco is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #332 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 Weslaco?

One place: the Cortez Hotel (listed 2004).

How old are the homes in Weslaco?

2% of Weslaco’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1995.

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 (3), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.