Archer Park

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm happy to pass it along. Picture this: a single city block, smack in the heart of McAllen, Texas, carrying more history per square foot than most places ten times its size. That's Archer Park, and the story behind it is worth slowing down for.

In 1917, six years after McAllen was incorporated as a town, a man named Mayor Oliver Percy Archer deeded this one-block-square tract of land to the city. His one condition, if you can even call it that: use it as a public park. Now, Archer was no ordinary fellow.

Born in 1869 and a prominent local businessman and civic leader by the time this story finds him, he was the kind of man a young town leans on. He donated the land, the city got its park, and for a good while that was the whole story. But then, in 1933, the McAllen Board of City Commissioners made it official and named the site for him.

Oliver Percy Archer, who had passed in 1930, never got to hear his name on that park sign. Sometimes the recognition arrives just a little late. And the story kept going.

From 1936 to 1949, the McAllen Public Library set up shop in the basement area of the bandstand right there on the grounds. Think about that the next time you picture a library: books and periodicals tucked underneath a bandstand, music above and words below. The park has been the site of community activities and celebrations too numerous to count.

Today, Archer Park stands as a reminder of the early days of McAllen, one quiet city block holding a whole town's memory.

What the marker says

This one-block-square tract of land was deeded to the city of McAllen for use as a public park in 1917, six years after the town was incorporated. The donor, Mayor Oliver Percy Archer (1869-1930), was a prominent local businessman and civic leader. The site was officially named for him in 1933 by the McAllen Board of City Commissioners. From 1936 to 1949 the McAllen Public Library was housed in the basement area of the bandstand. The site of many community activities and celebrations, Archer Park serves as a reminder of the early days of McAllen. (1981)