The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1909-03-13
ome s125. coo is involved


! Adjoining Mr.. Dougherty' land is
a tract of 1000 acres recent acquired
by Park & Holmes of Boulder. Col.
This company is surveying land and
getting things in shape for develop
ment. The plan viii probably be to
develop and sell in small tracts The
company expects to retain a portion
for itself to plant in cane, alfalfa and
truck.
Nearby and adjoining the station
of McAllen on the east is holding
of 5000 acres, owned by Steele &
Pershing of Oklahoma City,. This
firm only started last December, but
plans contemplate the construction
of a 14-mile canal, with laterals suf-
ficient to develop the entire property.
Already a number of outsiders have
been interested in the enterprise, and
contracts for the sale of 3600 acres
to people from all over the country
have been made. On one trip to the
property Mr.. Pershing brought 81
people from Canada The company
expects to develop a sugar plantation
for itself later on. 1t is stated that
from $25O,000 to 100000 is. rep
lC0CAlCQ III Ills CHlcIU I1S6.
At MeAHen the Hidalgo Canal Co.
interests have an acreage of 81, 900.
10000 of which are under ditch
and 1000 acres will be in cultivation
this spring cane, 400 alfalfa,
500 in cabbage, 100 Irish potatoes,
100 in onions, leo in oranges 100
in figs and the balance in miscel-
laneous crops, such as beans. canta-
loupes, corn etc. The officers of this
company are d r.. Swift. president,
and William Briggs, secretary and
treasurer. These gentlement are re-
Gently from Lake Charles, La, and
have been operating in the valley for
some years, although the present de-
velopment has largely taken place
within the last II months. Lands
have been sold to about 250 people
from all parts of the United States,
all of whom are improving the prop
erty purchased. The prices range
from $50 to $3.50 an acre, including
an interest in the canal. which is
decided to the landowners. There
are miles of main canal and IL
of laterals to the south and to the
North. In the townsie there are soc
acres and considerable settlement.
Something like $400, 600 is repre-
sented in the investment, S125,OOO
of which was required for the canal
It is proposed that there shall be a
considerable sugar development here
and a sugar mill is contemplated.
There is talk of a Representing plant
and plant to manufacture sauer-
kraut
AT Hidalgo is the pumping plant of
the Rio Bravo Canal Co., of which en-
terprise c. S. Morton adm C. E. Ham
mond are personal owners. The
pumping plant was completed in
September, and there is now water on
every 40 of the 1000 acres in cult
Walton. The entire tract consists of
1000 acres, and was bought in Feb
ruary, 1908. About 1900 acres have
been sold, and the balance is i'll the
marked now in blocks of 40 to so to
40 acres each. Sugar-cane. alfalfa
and farm truck are the general crops
AT the town of Mission Conway &
Holt are developing $1,000 acres in
an almost sensational way. 1t is in
this tract that William j. Bryan has
acquired 120 acres of land. and other
recent purchasers have been B. F.
Yoakum, B. L. Winchell and other
well7known railroad men, Conway
K Holt are Minnesota land men and
they have injected a vast amount of
enterprise into their work here. The
property occupies very slightly To-
cation and thir benches down to the
ond and third benches down to the
Rio Grande and affording a side for
city above the railroad which is
unsurpassed in this generally level
country. The main body of this land
was purchased by Conway e Holt
Just two years ago. = ney began sur
yeying for canal March ], 1907, and
even before the deal for the land had
been closed some of the land had
been sold. The canal construction
was commenced in August, 1907.
| and by December OF that year the
water was in the bitches. A few
months later a pump with a capacity
OF $4,000 gallons per minute was in
stalled, which was sufficient to irri-
gate from 5000 to 10000 acres of
land. Up to date about 5000 acres of
! the tract have been sold, at an aver
| age price of $50 an acre The price
on the. remaining land will average
| S100 an acre. Over 1900 owner
ships are represented in the pur-
chasers, and they have come from
places as widely separate as Mexico
City and Munich, Alaska and Florida
An investment of $4,000 in this
| property has already been made by
The original owners. and further i'm
Drovements contemplated include
centrifugal pumping plant of $50
| horsepower
After disposing of his interest in
the San Juan sugar plantation Mr..
Closner bought 10000 acres of land
in Hidalgo county north of San Juan
Station from the Texas Mexican rail-
road Co. Starting out four months
ago, Mr. Closner and those whom he
had associated with him began the
development of this property in the
most vigorous fashion. The lands
were covered with mesquite and cac-
tus, and no development of any kind
had been made. Fourteen hundred
acres OF a townsie we're laid off, and
II wac 1lrnOOcad RI ocfa hIfcb thu -oof