Progreso Lakes

Progreso Lakes is on the Rio Grande and Farm Road 1015, half a mile south of Progreso and six miles south of Weslaco in southeastern Hidalgo County. The community centers around Lion and Moon lakes, two resacas or ox-bow lakes. Land south of Moon Lake became part of the United States in 1914, when the Rio Grande channel moved southward. Around 1903 sugar plantation developers began acquiring ranchland in the area from the heirs of Juan José Hinojosa who received the Llano Grande land grant in 1790. Sugar planters built Spanish-style homes around the lakes during and just after World War I. W. M. Bancroft of Borderland Sugar Company acquired much of the acreage. After freezes discouraged early sugar growers Progreso Development Company, which was formed in 1927, used the Bancroft home as a "land party" house to entertain prospective buyers and investors in their 5,000 acres of citrus groves. Freezes and a high water table put an end to citrus production. After floods washed out the Rio Rico bridge five miles downriver, the Progreso International Bridge was constructed in 1953 at an ancient river crossing. In 1990 commercial farms in the area grew improved sugar cane, cotton, and sorghum. Businesses included two grain elevators, a supermarket, and the international bridge connecting to Nuevo Progreso and Rio Bravo in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Progreso Lakes was incorporated in 1979. It is served by a Weslaco rural postal route. The population was 154 in 1990. In 2000 the population was 234.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.