EDINBURG

city, seat of Hidalgo county, extreme southern Texas, U.S., in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, 55 miles (89 km) west-northwest of Brownsville. With McAllen and Pharr it forms a metropolitan complex. Old Edinburgh (no longer existing) was founded by John Young of Scotland near the site of Hidalgo and in 1852 became the county seat. In 1908, by referendum, the seat was moved to nearby Chapin (established in 1907), which in 1911 was renamed Edinburg to commemorate the earlier town (the h was dropped). Edinburg developed as a cotton-ginning centre and a packing and shipping point for the valley's citrus fruits and vegetables. Oil and natural gas fields are in the vicinity. The city operates one of the nation's most scattered school districts, embracing about 945 square miles (2,450 square km) of groves and farmland and ranchland. It is the site of Pan American University (1927) and the Tropical Texas Center for Mental Health and Mental Retardation (1967). Inc. city, 1919. Pop. (1990) city, 29,885; McAllen-Edinburg-Mission MSA, 383,545.