This article is about the City of Edinburg, Texas, which was originally organized as Chapin, Texas.

Edinburg is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas.  The population was 48,465 at the 2000 census.  It is the county seat of Hidalgo County.

This city is the home of the Edinburg Coyotes, a minor league baseball team in the United Baseball League, and was formerly the home of the Edinburg Roadrunners, a now defunct minor league baseball team in the Central Baseball League.

Edinburg is also the home town of Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Freddy Gonzalez.

Alfred Cantu Gonzalez

May 23, 1946 - February 4, 1968

Medal of Honor recipient Sgt Alfredo Cantu Gonzalez

Place of birth Edinburg, Texas

Place of death KIA in Hue City, Vietnam

Allegiance USMC Years of service 1965-1968

Rank Sergeant

Unit 1st Reconnaissance Battalion

3rd Battalion, 4th Marines

2nd Battalion, 6th Marines

1st Battalion, 1st Marines

Battles/wars Operation Hue City, Vietnam War

Awards Medal of Honor Purple Heart

History:

In 1908, John Closner, William Briggs, and Dennis B. Chapin developed a new community with the town square located at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 281 and State Highway 107.  The town was named Chapin in honor of one of the developers and it became the county seat for Hidalgo County.  Hidalgo, Texas was the county seat previously.  When Dennis Chapin was involved in a homicide, the community of Chapin changed its name to Edinburg to honor the birthplace of a prominent businessman Young - (Young was born in Edinburgh, Scotland).

Edinburg incorporated in 1919.

Geography:

Edinburg is located at 26°18'15?N, 98°9'50?W (26.304225, -98.163751)GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 96.9 km² (37.4 mi²). 96.8 km² (37.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.13%) is water.

Demographics :

Population as of the census of 2000, there were 48,465 people, 14,183 households, and 11,417 families residing in the city.  The population density was 500.7/km² (1,296.9/mi²).  There were 16,031 housing units at an average density of 165.6/km² (429.0/mi²).  The racial makeup of the city was 73.32% White, 0.58% African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 22.67% from other races, and 2.27% from two or more races.  Hispanic or Latino of any race were 88.68% of the population.  However, it should be noted that overlap of the race and Hispanic/Latino categories is the source of considerable dispute; for example, in Census 2000 data, the "other races" category overlaps by 95% with the Hispanic/Latino category.

There were 14,183 households out of which 46.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.9% were married couples living together, 19.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.5% were non-families.  15.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 3.29 and the average family size was 3.71. In the city the population was spread out with 33.0% under the age of 18, 13.1% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 27 years.  For every 100 females there were 95.3 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.   The median income for a household in the city was $28,938, and the median income for a family was $30,634.  Males had a median income of $27,505 versus $21,010 for females.  The per capita income for the city was $11,854.  About 25.2% of families and 29.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.2% of those under age 18 and 23.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education:

Colleges and universities Edinburg is the home of the University of Texas-Pan American, which started as part of the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District in the 1920s, and the Rio Grande Bible Institute. [edit] K-12 school districts Almost all of the city is served by the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District. A small portion is served by the McAllen Independent School District. In addition, South Texas Independent School District operates magnet schools that serve Edinburg and many surrounding communities. South Texas Business Education & Technology Academy (BETA) is in Edinburg.

Radio Stations:

KFRQ 94.5FM

KKPS 99.5FM

KNVO 101.1FM

KVLY 107.9FM

Area newspapers:

The Monitor

The Mid Valley Town Crier

The RGV Review

Edinburg Political News

The Edinburg Star

El Americano News

RGV Business Journal