Spiderweb Railroad

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. You're rolling through Hidalgo County, and if you look out across this flat, sun-baked landscape, try to imagine it back in 1912. Dirt roads everywhere.

Move a crate of produce, move a family, move anything of any weight or size, and those roads would fight you every step. That was the problem staring down a local civil engineer and land promoter named Sam A. Robertson.

Born in 1867, died in 1938, and in between, the man left his mark on this valley in ways you can still trace if you know what you're looking for. Robertson had established the Brownsville Street and Interurban Railroad Company, and from that foundation something bigger began to grow. In 1912, the San Benito and Rio Grande Valley Railroad got its start, and it was off to the races.

Now here's where the story gets its name. As the line expanded and spurs were constructed out to remote frame communities scattered across the region, folks started noticing something. Look at a map of those tracks and those spurs reaching out in every direction, and what do you see?

A spiderweb. That's what they called it. The Spiderweb Railroad.

It wasn't just a colorful nickname either. This railroad was instrumental in the early development of the region's towns and commerce. Real growth, real consequence.

And the web kept growing until the company had just over a hundred miles of track to its name. Then in 1924, the San Benito and Rio Grande Valley Railroad became part of the Missouri-Pacific system. One spider's web, folded into something much larger.

But out here in the valley, they still remember what it was first called.

What the marker says

Begun in 1912 when dirt roads hampered area transportation, the San Benito & Rio Grande Valley Railroad was instrumental in the early development of the region's towns and commerce. It grew from the Brownsville Street and Interurban Railroad Company, established by Sam A. Robertson (1867-1938), a local civil engineer and land promoter. As the line grew and spurs were constructed to remote frame communities, it became known as the Spiderweb Railroad. With just over 100 miles of track, the company became part of the Missouri-Pacific system in 1924. (1982)