Winter Garden Region facts for kids

Map of Texas highlighting the Winter Garden Region

The Winter Garden Region is a special farming area in South Texas in the United States. It's located north of Laredo and southwest of San Antonio. This region is mainly made up of four counties: Dimmit, Frio, La Salle, and Zavala. It also includes parts of Atascosa, Maverick, and McMullen counties.

Even though small parts of Bexar, Medina, Uvalde, and Wilson counties are in the area, they are usually not seen as part of the Winter Garden Region.

This area is famous for growing vegetables all year long. Farmers use a method called irrigation to water their crops, which helps them grow even when there isn't much rain.

History of the Winter Garden Region

This part of Texas is naturally dry. Before people started using a lot of irrigation, it was covered in short grasses and mesquite trees. It's part of a larger natural area called the Tamaulipan mezquital ecoregion, which is known for its dry climate and specific types of plants.

Farmers began growing onions near Cotulla in La Salle County around 1896. At the same time, farmers in Dimmit County started using clever ways to get water. They used water from underground sources called artesian aquifers and built dams to hold water for their crops.

Growth and Change

When trains arrived in the early 1900s, it changed everything. It became much easier to send fresh vegetables to other parts of the country. This led to a big "land boom," meaning land became very valuable. Between 1900 and 1920, the number of farms in La Salle County almost tripled. The price of an acre of farmland in Dimmit County jumped from $1.80 in 1900 to over $40 by 1920!

In Zavala County, the number of farms tripled between 1900 and 1930. This happened because a very large ranch, the Cross S Ranch, was divided into many smaller 10-acre plots for farming. While cotton was a big crop in Frio County, the most important vegetables grown in the region were onions, cabbage, spinach, beets, and strawberries. Farmers also grew other things like citrus fruits (like oranges), melons, and nuts.

By 1930, about 36,816 people lived in the Winter Garden Region, a big jump from 8,401 in 1900. However, things got tougher later. The cost of irrigation went up, and the Great Depression (a time when many people lost their jobs and money) made it hard for small farms to survive. Many farms turned back into ranchland, and large companies started to take over farming.

After World War II, big companies like Del Monte built canneries (factories that can food) close to the farms. This made it easier to process and ship the vegetables.

Today, the Winter Garden Region is still one of the top places in the country for growing winter vegetables using irrigation.

Population in Core Counties

Core counties of the Winter Garden Region.      Frio County      Dimmit County      Zavala County     La Salle County

The table below shows how the population in the main counties of the Winter Garden Region changed over time.