La Feria, “the fair,” was home to Indians in ancient times. The
rich land that surrounds it produces year ’round crops. La Feria is at the intersection
of U.S. Highway 83 and Farm Road 506, twenty-four miles northwest of Brownsville
in western Cameron County. The area was first settled when the land was assigned
by Spain in 1777 to Rosa María Hinojosa de Ballíqv as part of the La Feria land
grant. The Ballí family established several farms with headquarters on the La
Feria grant. The family maintained control of the land well into the mid-1800s,
and the community that grew up on the grant remained a ranching center into
the twentieth century. In 1909 G. J. Schoenberg, a local land developer, developed
the town of La Feria. That year the La Feria post office was opened. A railroad
stop named Bixby was established a mile from the town when the St. Louis, Brownsville
and Mexico Railway was built through the area in 1911. In July 1912 the founding
fathers of La Feria stole the Bixby depot and hauled it to the new townsite.
By 1915 La Feria had a population of 200, a bank, two churches, and a weekly
newspaper, the La Feria Leader. In 1925 estimates of the population ranged from
236 to 825.
La Feria was incorporated in 1933, when its population was 1,594
and it had ninety businesses. In 1936 the community had various dwellings, one
business, one farm, three schools, and two churches. The population was estimated
at 2,630 in 1948. In 1960 the town supported the La Feria News, three elementary
schools, a junior high, a high school, and a population of 3,000. During the
1960s La Feria was home to the Mexico Border Bible Institute (World Gospel Mission)
and had Baptist, Church of Christ, Methodist, Catholic, Presbyterian, and United
Pentecostal churches. The town reported ninety industries in 1967, including
fruit and vegetable canneries, manufacturers of carnival equipment, cotton trailers,
and liquid fertilizer, and three cotton gins. The tourist trade had expanded
considerably, and tourist facilities were available at the community center
park. The Rosita Longoria house, built in 1909, was still standing in 1976 and
served as the La Feria Museum. That year the sixty-fourth annual fair was celebrated.
In 1990 La Feria had 4,360 inhabitants and thirty-five businesses. Feria is
Spanish for "fair."
Current Population: 4360
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