San Juan Townsite

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of how San Juan came to be. Back in 1910, a man named John Closner, an area entrepreneur and the fellow this town was named for, sold 406 acres of land to the San Juan Townsite Co. That sale is what established the town.

Sitting right on the rail line, San Juan didn't waste any time. A business district took root along Fifth Street, and the town was off and runnin'. Then, in 1911, right here at this very site, the city's first two-story building went up.

Two stories. In 1911. Out here in the Rio Grande Valley, that was something to see.

The building got right to work housing the San Juan State Bank, and it kept that bank under its roof until 1918. After that, it didn't sit idle. It served a whole variety of businesses over the years, including the district irrigation office.

More than sixty years passed. Then came the partial demolition, and a good portion of that original structure came down. But not all of it.

One section held on. And that remaining section, the last piece of San Juan's very first two-story building, now houses the city library. Some buildings, it turns out, just refuse to be finished.

What the marker says

The town of San Juan was established in 1910 with the sale of 406 acres of land to the San Juan Townsite Co., by area entrepreneur John Closner, for whom the town was named. Located on the rail line, San Juan quickly developed a business district along Fifth Street. At this site in 1911, the city's first two-story building was erected. It housed the San Juan State Bank until 1918 and served a variety of business, including the district irrigation office, until its partial demolition more than 60 years later. The only remaining section of the structure houses the city library. (1984)