
Precipitation peaks during September with 5.76 inches (146 mm) of precipitation falling.Ĭlimate data for Harlingen, Texas, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1912–presentĭemographics Historical population Census Winters are very dry with warm days and cool nights. Summers are long, and very humid with hot days and warm nights. Harlingen has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cfa). They are neutral to moderately alkaline with pH of 7.2 to 8.5 (most commonly around 8.2), and are moderately well drained or well drained in most cases, with small areas of poorly drained, saline clays.

Soils in Harlingen range in texture from fine sandy loam to clay. In 2000, the community had 57,564 inhabitants and 2,549 businesses.Īccording to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 40.3 square miles (104.4 km 2), of which 39.8 square miles (103.1 km 2) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km 2), or 1.22%, is covered by water. In 1992, the city was named an All-America City, cited especially for its volunteer spirit and self-help programs. The city has two newspapers-the Harlingen Press, a weekly paper established in 1951, and the Valley Morning Star, a daily established in 1911. Each March, Harlingen is the site of the Rio Grande Valley International Music Festival.
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Development and appreciation of the fine arts are encouraged by organizations such as the Rio Grande Valley Art League, the Art Forum, and the Rio Grande Valley Civic Association, which stages its winter concert series at the 2,300-seat Harlingen Municipal Auditorium. Fraternal orders and civic organizations operating in the community include Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, Optimist, 20–30, VFW, American Legion, and the Lower Valley Cotillion Club a woman's building is maintained as a center for the activities of the many woman's clubs active in the city. Civic and cultural development in Harlingen has kept pace with the growth of the community. Also serving regional health needs are the South Texas State Chest Hospital, the State Hospital for Children, and the Rio Grande State Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center.īesides public and church-affiliated schools, Harlingen students attend the University Preparatory School, the Marine Military Academy, Texas State Technical College, or Rio Grande Vocational and Rehabilitation classes. The city's outstanding network of health-care specialists and facilities parallels the growth of the still-expanding center. The Valley Baptist Hospital has grown into the Valley Baptist Medical Center. The Valley Baptist Hospital was built nearby a few years later, and eventually the older hospital closed. The first hospital in Harlingen opened in 1923, and consisted of little more than two barracks as wings. At Valley International Airport, the Confederate Air Force (now Commemorative Air Force) occupied hangar and apron space until 1991.

The City of Harlingen operates a busy industrial airpark where bombers used to land. Large-scale construction for multifaceted retirement communities is a new phase of industrial development. The addition of wholesale and retail trade, light and medium manufacturing, and an array of service industries has broadened the economic base. In the late 1980s, income from tourism ranked second only to citrus fruit production, with grain and cotton next in order. The estimated population in July 1985 was 49,000, of which about 80% was Hispanic. Local enterprise, focused on the purchase and use of the abandoned base and related housing, laid the groundwork for continuing progress through a diversified economy. The city's population fell to 33,603 by 1972, then climbed to 40,824 by 1980. Harlingen Army Air Field preceded Harlingen Air Force Base, which closed in 1962. World War II military installations in Harlingen caused a jump in population from 23,000 in 1950 to 41,000 by 1960. The local economy at first was almost entirely agricultural, with the chief crops vegetables and cotton. Harlingen incorporated on April 15, 1910, when the population totaled 1,126. The first school opened with 15 pupils in 1905 near the Hill home, the first residence built in Harlingen. The town's post office was established that year. He named the town he founded on the north bank after the Frisian city of Harlingen, in the Netherlands. Hill (a man of Choctaw ancestry ) envisioned the Rio Grande as a commercial waterway. Route 83, co-designated as Interstate 69 East and Interstate 2, respectively, in northwestern Cameron County, fostered its development as a distribution, shipping, and industrial center.

Harlingen's strategic location at the intersection of U.S.

Harlingen's Jackson Street in the late 1950s
