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John H. Shary Collection

The John H. Shary Collection contains the papers from John H. Shary (1872-1945), the founder of Sharyland and Father of the Texas Citrus Industry. Shary was a prominent land developer and was president of the United Irrigation Company in the Mission / Sharyland area. The digital images from the Shary Collection include letters, speeches, and photographs. For more materials of the John H. Shary Collection, view the Finding Aid on ArchivesSpace.

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Address by John H. Shary given at 1930 Sharyland High School commencement

John H. Shary

Speech given by John H. Shary to the graduating class of Sharyland High School of 1930.
Address by John H. Shary given at a banquet in honor of the Sharyland High School senior class of 1933

John H. Shary

Speech given by John H. Shary to the graduating class of Sharyland High School 1933.
[Agriculture] Photograph of an Agricultural Worker Harvesting Sugarcane harvest

Mexican farm worker harvesting the sugarcane crop. Part of Shary Collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of Anderson Orchard SE 10-33-4

Gray

Young citrus trees with a paved road and telephone lines along the left side. Part of Shary Collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of cattle in field

Copy negative of a small herd of cows grazing in a field with low brush. Trees are visible in the background. The original print is pinned to a background with push-pins. Part of Shary collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of cattle in front of shed

Cows and shed. Possibly Jersey dairy cows. Part of Shary collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of cattle in milking shed

Cows in milking shed being milked by machine. Part of Shary Collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of cattle standing in water

Cattle standing in water near tree. Part of Shary Collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of Clearing the field

Two men in donkey-driven carts clearing a field to prepare for planting. Part of Shary Collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of Commercial bee hive

Photograph of a commercial beehive with honeybees. Part of Shary Collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of Corn

9 corn cobs with two cross sections and a ruler indicating size of corn. Part of Shary Collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of Cotton crop in field, house in background

Corn crop in field with house in background. Part of Shary Collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of Date palm

Date palm with large cluster of dates. Part of Shary Collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of Dirt Canal with two people

Photograph of a dirt canal with one person standing in the water, and the other person standing on the right bank. Part of Shary Collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of dirt road past corn field

Dirt road with a corn field on the left, and an uncleared field on the right. Part of Shary Collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of Grapes

Close-up photograph of several clusters of grapes or berries hanging from vines that are propped up with wooden sticks. Part of Shary Collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of Harvested crop

Harvested crop in wooden crates. Part of Shary Collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of Lemons

4 lemons with ruler indicating size. Part of Shary Collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of Pigs in pen #1

Photograph of adult and baby pigs in a pen. A wooden fence and wooden structures are visible in the background. Part of Shary Collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of Strawberries

Strawberry plant with strawberries and flowers. Part of Shary Collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of Testimony from W. B. Hinckly

Testimony of a farmer concerning the opportunities in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Part of Shary Collection.
[Agriculture] Photograph of young cotton field

Young cotton crop in field. Part of Shary Collection.
Article in Successful Attitudes - "A Romance With the Valley" The citrus industry and John H. Shary

Allan Shivers Jr.

"There is romance in the Valley. It's been said that the citrus and the palms give it that romance. It also comes from the natural hospitality of its people. An article in 1924 noted; "the openhanded hospitality with which newcomers are greeted, the ever willingness to aid them in getting established and advising them ... are phases of the older settlers activities that vie in generosity with those of any community in the world". These older settlers certainly found romance in the orange trees growing to "magnificent height" along the river."
Biography of John H. Shary, incomplete

Incomplete typed biography of John H. Shary. 1939ca
Correspondence and payment collections between United Irrigation Company and G. C. Jensen from 1919 to 1933

United Irrigation Company and John H. Shary

Correspondence between the United Irrigation Company and the client G. C. Jensen as well as payment receipts. At one point, the client owed to the company, and a receipt can be seen. The client was also complaining that the irrigation company did not water his crops, and they issued a response.
Correspondence and payment collections between United Irrigation Company and S.E. Seim

United Irrigation Company and John H. Shary

Correspondence between the Irrigation United Company and the client S.E. Seim. The client owed to the company, and a receipt can be seen. The client was also complaining that the irrigation company did not water his crops, and they issued a response.
Correspondence between John H. Shary and Frank Walker regarding taxes

John H. Shary and Frank Walker

Correspondence between John H. Shary and Frank Walker. They discussed Mr. Walker's land and taxes.
Correspondence between John H. Shary, W. S. Dougherty, and E. V. Sprowl

John H. Shary, E. V. Sprowl, and W. S. Dougherty

Correspondence between John H. Shary, W. S. Dougherty, and E. V. Sprowl regarding net sales of fruits.
Correspondence between T. Melden, George C. Stokes, and John Shary

John H. Shary, George C. Stokes, Pearl Perry Stokes, Tim Melden, Leon H. Brown, J. F. Ewers, and Hollis Rankin

Correspondence regarding lot 282, Shary Subdivision between November 1, 1930 and October 15, 1942 between T. Melden, George C. Stokes, John Shary, Pearl Stokes, and attorneys for the United Irrigation Company.
Correspondence from Blaine Holcomb to R.D. Martinez showing buildings in Mission, Texas

Blaine H. Holcomb

One letter accompanied by a page with photographs and sketches of the various buildings in Mission, Texas. Shown are the First Christian Church, the Methodist Church, Sharyland High School and Grade School, the Catholic Church, and the Presbyterian Church.
Correspondence from Buckingham Palace to Lady Edward Spencer Churchill and Mr. John H. Shary.

Buckingham Palace (London, England) and John H. Shary

John H. Shary sent a shipment of grapefruit on two separate occasions in 1929 and 1931 to King George V and Queen Mary of England.
Correspondence from D. W. Glasscock to R. L. Lewis regarding construction of school building in Sharyland

D. W. Glasscock

Correspondence from D. W. Glasscock to R. L. Lewis, McAllen school board president concerning promised construction of a school building in Sharyland.
Correspondence from Earnhardt Deming Inc. to United Irrigation Company

Earnhardt Deming Inc. (McAllen, Tex.)

Letter printed on stationary with images of buildings belonging to Earnhardt Deming Inc. and a home owned by Mr. Earnhardt. The company is inquiring on taxes owed on Lot 32-11.
Correspondence from John H. Shary to Dr. S. Sprecher

John H. Shary

Correspondence discussing condition of crops, amount of water used, United Irrigation Company hardships, and livelihood of the renter.
Correspondence from the Pres. Junior Class to Mr. John H. Shary

Deona Alexander

Correspondence from the President of the Junior Class inviting Mr. John H. Shary to make the principal address at the Junior-Senior Banquet.
Correspondence from Water Users' Association

E. G. Overmiller

Correspondence from Water Users' Association to a user who wishes to join. The purpose and fees of the association are described in the letter.
Correspondence regarding access to flumes by United Irrigation Company employee

Tim Melden

Correspondence addresses an issue regarding a flumes watchman being unable to cross the flume in an area due to a fence being erected by Mr. Price.
Correspondence regarding finances

John H. Shary

A handwritten letter to John H. Shary about finances. John H. Shary replies to the client in another letter.
Correspondence regarding Morelos Fruit Fly Plague of 1932

John H. Shary

A letter regarding the Morelos Fruit Fly plague written by the Texas Citrus Growers Exchange. The letter urges the employees to collect the fruit left on the trees.
Dedication speech for the opening of the new Sharyland school

John H. Shary

Typed dedication speech delivered by Mr. John H. Shary. One of many speeches delivered during the dedication.
Deed of land for the Grangeno School site sold by John Shary to the Trustees of Common School District 15 for $1.00

John H. Shary and Hidalgo Common School District No. 15 (Hidalgo County, Tex.)

Land sold to build the Grangeno school on 1.86 acres of land north of Grangeno Banco between the old and the new Military roads.
Documents pertaining to the purchase of two Victrolas for the Sharyland schools

The children of each school were given the option of serving as their own school janitors in exchange for a Victrola for each school. Victrola 90 was eventually purchased, and John Shary donated records to the schools.
Edinburg educational center

Edinburg Chamber of Commerce

A pamphlet promoting the growth of the city of Edinburg. Includes pictures of a school, roads, hospital, among others, and talks about the citrus industry.
[Edinburg] Photograph of Hidalgo County Courthouse, Edinburg, Texas

Men standing in front of the Hidalgo County Courthouse in Edinburg, Texas. Part of Shary Collection.
E. H. Shary - Milton Glen Torno (All E. H. Shary Surgaen sold) (Tract 25, 5 acres; Tracts 11 and 12, 20 acres, all in Section 58 of the Geo. H. Paul Subdivision), 1945-1955

E H. Shary; Milton Glen Torno; Edward H. Vogel Sr; Blaine H. Holcomb; C R. Latham; Southtex Land Sales, Inc.; John H. Shary Estate; and Christine K. Torno

2.4 Real Estate, Box 117, Folder 26
Grangeno site memo

John H. Shary and H. H. Ewing

Typed office memorandum concerning finding a site in Grangeno for the Mexican school.
Information about Harlingen and the Lower Rio Grande Valley

Harlingen Chamber of Commerce

Pamphlet highlighting the growth of the city of Harlingen and the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Different services and utilities there are also described.
In Rio Grande Valley Paradise : Sharyland : where nature produces the world's sweetest citrus fruits

Southwestern Land Company (Mission, Tex.)

Hand-colored promotional booklet highlighting the Southwestern Land Company in Mission, Texas.
Invitation to opening ceremony of the new Sharyland building and photographs of the first turn of the dirt at the site

Shary Organization

Invitation to opening ceremony of the new Sharyland building and photographs of the first turn of the dirt at the site. Companies housed in building are: Shary-Maddox Company, Texas Citrus Fruit Growers Exchange, Shary Products Company, The Brogdex Company of Texas, United Irrigation Company, Sharyland Orchards and Nurseries, Southtex Mortgage Loan Company, Granjeno Development Company.
John H. Shary Collection processing notes

William Flores

John H. Shary Collection processing notes

Naming conventions were minimally changed for increased discoverability.

The collection identifier from ArchiveSpace was used instead of the ContentDM identifier.

Metadata was updated to increase discoverability.

Dates were added.

Books and correspondence were exported to PDFs and OCR was applied.

For books with images, a compressed folder of all images was added as a supplemental file.

Converted Jp2 images to JPG.

Utilized names of books cataloged on Alma catalog.

Migrated from ContentDM to BePress on August 3, 2020.
Lloyd's magazine - The story of the Rio Grande Valley and other big features

Everett Lloyd

Black and white magazine. Story pertaining to the Rio Grande Valley: "The truth about the Rio Grande Valley and its builders".
Marriage certificate of John H. Shary and Mary E. O'Brien

Marriage certificate of John H. Shary and Mary E. O'Brien.
McAllen, Texas, the city of palms

McAllen Chamber of Commerce (Tex.) and Johnston Printing & Advertising Company

Hand-colored promotional booklet highlighting McAllen, Texas.
[Mercedes] Photograph of Concrete canal

Photograph of a large concrete canal with two men standing on the middle section. Appears to be canal in Mercedes, Texas. Part of Shary Collection.
[Mercedes] Photograph of German Lutheran Church, Mercedes, Texas

Wooden church with bell tower. Part of Shary Collection.
[Mission] Photograph of a Homestead

Possibly the old Shary house. Part of Shary Collection
[Mission] Photograph of St. Paul's Cathedral in Mission, Texas

St. Paul's Cathedral in Mission, Texas before its destruction in 1919 storm. Part of Shary Collection.
[Mission] Photograph of St. Peter's Novitiate, La Lomita, Mission, Texas

St. Peter's Novitiate was built on the ranchlands willed to the Oblate Order of Mary Immaculate in 1912 by architect Frederick B. Gaenslen. The ruins of the seminary which was nearly destroyed by fire in 2009 are located on the hilltop near La Lomita Chapel.

Part of Shary Collection.
Newspaper article describing dedication of new Sharyland school

Newspaper clipping describing the events of the dedication of the new Sharyland school located on the corner of Business 83 and Shary Road.
Newspaper article on Sharyland: the right place

The Mission Times

Full page advertisement for Sharyland by the Southwestern Land Company.
Newspaper article on Sharyland to build latest design school building

San Antonio Express

Newspaper clipping describing the new Sharyland school building designed by Harvey P. Smith.
Newspaper articles pertaining to John H. Shary from Pittsburgh Press and Progress Times

Newspaper clippings on John H. Shary and his work in the Rio Grande Valley.
O'Brien, M. (Torno - 5 acres tract No. 25, Section 58; Ware - Tract No. 25 in Section 58, 5 acres), 1944-1951

E H. Shary; J B. Torno; Allan Shivers; Blaine H. Holcomb; Southtex Land Sales, Inc.; and M O'Brien

2.4 Real estate, Box 119, Folder 58
Petition to the Board of Trustees, McAllen Independent School District

Petition from the residents of Sharyland requesting that a grade school building and a teacher be located in Sharyland
Photograph of a multitude of people entering the Shary Chapel

Black and white photograph. A multitude of people entering the Shary Chapel.
Photograph of Arnold Shary's homestead, panoramic view

Black and white photograph. Arnold Shary was one of John H. Shary's two nephews.
Photograph of arrival of the Standard Land Co. Party San Juan, Tex., panoramic view

Novelty Studio

Black and white photograph. 39 x 7 in. Excursion party and drivers posing in front of automobiles and railroad cars at San Juan, Texas. Shary would pay local drivers $35.00 per day to drive the excursionists around Sharyland.
Photograph of Bishop Mariano Garriaga greeting people at entrance of the Shary Chapel

Black and white photograph. Close-up of Bishop Mariano Garriaga greeting people at entrance to the chapel.
Photograph of dedication of the Sharyland ISD Administration Building - 01

Color photograph. Dedication of the Sharyland ISD Administration Building.
Photograph of dedication of the Sharyland ISD Administration Building - 02

Color Photograph. Mrs. Marialice Shary Shivers in front of cake.
Photograph of dedication of the Sharyland ISD Administration Building - 03

Color Photograph. Mrs. Marialice Shary Shivers and friends cutting the ribbon.
Photograph of excursion party of the Southwestern Land Co. in Sharyland

Ziebell Studio (McAllen, Tex.)

Black and white photograph. 34 x 6 in. Excursion party posing in front of the Charles Voltz's home.
Photograph of interior of Shary home - 01

Black and white photograph. Interior of Shary home. Intricate furniture is displayed.
Photograph of interior of Shary home - 02

Black and white photograph. Interior of Shary home livingroom. Intricate furniture is displayed.
Photograph of interior of Sharyland Packing Plant

Black and white photograph. Interior of Sharyland Packing Plant. John Shary is pictured on right. Five other men are also pictured. A crate of grapefruit is pictured in center.
Photograph of John H. Shary and grandson John S. Shivers

Black and white photograph. John H. Shary and grandson John S. Shivers
Photograph of John H. Shary and Mary O'Brien in living room

Colorized photograph. Mr. and Mrs. Shary in living room.
Photograph of John H. Shary and Mrs. A. Y. Baker (Emogene Baker) as King and Queen Citrus

Black and white photograph. John H. Shary and Mrs. A. Y. Baker as King and Queen Citrus.
Photograph of John H. Shary, Bill Potter and Ralph G. Bray standing next to strung tarpon

Black and white photograph. John H. Shary, Bill Potter and Ralph G. Bray standing next to strung tarpon at Port Isabel, Texas.
Photograph of John H. Shary excursion, panoramic

Black and white photograph with some colorization. 22 x 6 in. Excursion party posing on dirt road in front of palm and citrus trees. Second from left: John Shary
Photograph of John H. Shary in office

Black and white photograph. Young John H. Shary sitting at his office.
Photograph of John H. Shary in uniform with Mary O'Brien

Black and white photograph. John H. Shary in uniform and Mary O'brien beside him.
Photograph of John H. Shary on cart pulled by ostrich

Black and white photograph. John H. Shary on cart pulled by an ostrich.
Photograph of John H. Shary with large tarpon

Gardner

Black and white photograph. "He's a good sport, and a good scout with it. 6ft 3in - caught July 12th 1931. Photo by Gardner."
Photograph of Mary O'Brien and John H. Shary in Carthage, MO

Black and white photograph. Mary O'Brien and John H. Shary in Carthage, MO on November 14, 1922. Leaving via auto for Joplin, MO.
Photograph of Mary O'Brien handing out diplomas to two students

Black and white photograph. Photograph of Mary O'Brien handing out diplomas to two students. [may be recipients of scholarships]
Photograph of Mr. and Mrs. George Mattison

Black and white photograph of Mr. and Mrs. George Mattison.
Photograph of oldest 40 acre orchard in the Rio Grande Valley

J. W. Gardner

Black and white photograph. Closeup of citrus tree bearing fruit. "Oldest 40 acre orchard in the Valley. Owner John H. Shary, Crop-1930-1931, Photo by Gardner - Feb. 31."
Photograph of post convention tour N.A.D.C. 23rd annual convention, Dallas, Texas, panoramic view

J. W. Gardner

Black and white photograph. 46 x 11 in. Conventioners standing in front of Shary House and Clubhouse by Shary Lake. Cars lined up in the background. Shary Boulevard is paved.
Photograph of pure unadulterated juice from Lower Rio Grande Valley grapefruit

J. W. Gardner

Black and white photograph. "Pure unadulterated juice from Lower Rio Grande Valley grapefruit. Photo by Gardner"
Photograph of Shary Chapel

Black and white photograph. Artistic photograph of the Shary Chapel. "Valley shrine".
Photograph of Shary Chapel during President Eisenhower visit

Color Photograph. Shary Chapel during Eisenhower's visit.
Photograph of Shary Excursion, panoramic view

J. C. Murff

Black and white photograph. Excursion party posing in front of Shary lake and the Shary house in the background was under construction.
Photograph of Shary excursion party, panoramic view

Black and white photograph. 37 x 7 in. Excursion party posing in front of Charles Voltz's home. Thirteenth from left: John Conway
Photograph of Shary house and Shary Lake

Black and white photograph of Shary house and Shary Lake. Water tower is seen behind the house.
Photograph of Shary house and Shary Lake

J. W. Gardner

Black and white photograph of Shary house and Shary Lake. Water tower is seen behind the house.
Photograph of Shary Lake, panoramic view

J. C. Murff

Black and white photograph. Excursion party posing in front of Shary Lake. This photograph was taken a month before the picture of the building of the Shary house was taken. By then, the lake had already drained away. The current "lake" is to the left, and the depression where Shary wanted the lake is to the right. They planted citrus trees on the failed lake bed.
Photograph of Sharyland party at Shary Yacht Club at Port Isabel

J. W. Gardner

Black and white photograph. 38 x 9 in. Excursion party posing in front of the Shary Yacht club.
Photograph of Sharyland School and packing plant, aerial view

Black and white photograph. Aerial photo of Sharyland School (top center) and Packing Plant (bottom center) on the corner of Business 83 (east to west) and Shary Road (north to south).
Photograph of Shary residence at Sharyland

Black and white photograph. Original Shary residence at Sharyland. Rear text: "This is a first view of our house I have my windows marked with a __. There are two windows in the front and one in the side. The small window is in the __ room. The window is in the ___ room and where you all see the white trims in the __."