Weslaco, Hidalgo County
During the Great Depression, displaced Midwesterners came to Weslaco and established Hooverville shantytowns. Hoping to improve their living conditions, in 1934, the Weslaco Lions Club worked to establish a park. William Henry Hoge and J.J. Gibson, for whom the park would be named, donated acreage. Weslaco's first municipal trailer park opened in 1936 as a tourist destination for campers and for those living in trailers. It closed as a trailer camp in 1946, later developing into a neighborhood park. Weslaco's ecotourism industry also developed as the city opened the Valley Nature Center on the park's eastern portion. Recreationally and commercially, Gibson Park remains a vital landmark in Weslaco. (2010)