Primera

Primera is off State Highway 107 and Farm Road 2994, west of Harlingen in northwestern Cameron County. The site was settled during the early 1900s and in 1914 had an estimated population of 200, a weekly newspaper, several general stores, a pharmacy, and a publishing house. Attempts to develop the town did not occur until the mid-1920s, when Ed Couch operated the Delta Developing Company. A railroad siding was established in 1927, when the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway built a line that passed through the town from Edinburg Junction to Brownsville. From 1933 to 1940 Primera had a population estimated at ten and one business. During the early 1940s the population was estimated at 100 and in 1947 at seventy-five; businesses in the area numbered between two and five during that period. The community was incorporated in the late 1950s. In 1961 it had 1,066 residents and five businesses. Although no business remained in operation after 1964, the population estimates remained the same through 1970. In 1990 the population was 2,030. The population was 2,723 in 2000.