John H. Shary

Last updated
John H. Shary
BornJohn Harry Shary
March 2, 1872
Wilber, Nebraska
Died November 6, 1945
San Antonio, Texas
Resting place Shary Memorial Chapel
Mission, Texas
Known for "Father of the Texas Citrus Industry"
Spouse(s) Mary E. O'Brien (1922-1945)
Children Marialice (adopted)
Parent(s) Robert and Rose Shary
Relatives Vittitoe (Present Relating Family)

John H. Shary (March 2, 1872 1945) was an American farmer and entrepreneur.

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Farmer person that undertakes agriculture

A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer might own the farmed land or might work as a laborer on land owned by others, but in advanced economies, a farmer is usually a farm owner, while employees of the farm are known as farm workers, or farmhands. However, in the not so distant past, a farmer was a person who promotes or improves the growth of by labor and attention, land or crops or raises animals.

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Early life

Shary's parents were Austrian immigrants who came to America and became pioneer farmers. John Shary grew up and went to school in Crete, Nebraska. By the age of eighteen he had worked his way through college to become one of the youngest men certified as a pharmacist in that state.

Austrians nation and an ethnic group of people living in Austria

Austrians are a Germanic nation and ethnic group, native to modern Austria and South Tyrol that share a common Austrian culture, Austrian descent and Austrian history. The English term Austrians was applied to the population of Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. Subsequently, during the 19th century, it referred to the citizens of the Empire of Austria (1804–1867), and from 1867 until 1918 to the citizens of Cisleithania. In the closest sense, the term Austria originally referred to the historical March of Austria, corresponding roughly to the Vienna Basin in what is today Lower Austria.

Settler person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there

A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally from a sedentary culture, as opposed to nomads who share and rotate their settlements with little or no concept of individual land ownership. Settlements are often built on land already claimed or owned by another group. Many times settlers are backed by governments or large countries. They also sometimes leave in search of religious freedom.

Crete, Nebraska City in Nebraska, United States

Crete is a city in Saline County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 6,960 at the 2010 census.

When he was twenty-two, he accepted a job as a traveling salesman for a California drug company. His travels took him throughout the United States and Canada. While in Texas, he took notice of the great potential for land development. He first purchased 30,000 acres (120 km²) of land between Corpus Christi and San Antonio. The sale of this property earned him much profit and inspired him to enter the land development business.

Corpus Christi, Texas City in Texas, United States

Corpus Christi, colloquially Corpus, is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio Counties. It is 130 miles southeast of San Antonio. Its political boundaries encompass Nueces Bay and Corpus Christi Bay. Its zoned boundaries include small land parcels or water inlets of three neighboring counties.

San Antonio City in Texas, United States

San Antonio, officially the City of San Antonio, is the seventh-most populous city in the United States, and the second-most populous city in both Texas and the Southern United States, with more than 1.5 million residents. Founded as a Spanish mission and colonial outpost in 1718, the city became the first chartered civil settlement in present-day Texas in 1731. The area was still part of the Spanish Empire, and later of the Mexican Republic. Today it is the state's oldest municipality.

Life in Texas

In 1912, Shary made his way to the Rio Grande Valley and realized the possibilities of this lush area. At the time it was largely brush and cactus, but Shary was impressed with citrus crops that were being grown by early citrus experimenters and felt that citrus was the crop of the future for Texas. Citrus crops needed irrigation and in 1914 Shary purchased the First Lift Station which pumped life giving water from the Rio Grande to irrigate 15,000 acres (61 km²) of surrounding crops. The chimney from the lift station has been designated a Texas historical landmark and is still standing at the site of Chimney Park in Mission, Texas. That following year Shary planted the first commercial citrus orchard. His first crops were seeded white grapefruit. His citrus empire would eventually grow to almost 15,000 acres (60 km²) of groves. The first commercial shipments of citrus, packed in onion crates, were shipped from the lower Rio Grande Valley in 1920. By 1922 much of the land had been transformed into citrus groves, and cotton, onion, and vegetable fields. Shary took the lead in organizing and building the United Irrigation Company, in order to assure water supplies for future developments.

Rio Grande Valley location in south Texas

The Rio Grande Valley is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas. It lies along the northern bank of the Rio Grande, which separates Mexico from the United States. The four-county region consists of Hidalgo, Cameron, Willacy, and Starr counties. It is one of the fastest growing regions in the United States, with its population having jumped from about 325,000 people in 1969 to more than 1,300,000 people by 2014. Some of the biggest cities in the region are: Brownsville, Harlingen, Weslaco, Pharr, McAllen, Edinburg, Mission, San Juan, and Rio Grande City.

Cactus family of mostly succulent plants, adapted to dry environments

A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word "cactus" derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek κάκτος, kaktos, a name originally used by Theophrastus for a spiny plant whose identity is not certain. Cacti occur in a wide range of shapes and sizes. Most cacti live in habitats subject to at least some drought. Many live in extremely dry environments, even being found in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on earth. Cacti show many adaptations to conserve water. Almost all cacti are succulents, meaning they have thickened, fleshy parts adapted to store water. Unlike many other succulents, the stem is the only part of most cacti where this vital process takes place. Most species of cacti have lost true leaves, retaining only spines, which are highly modified leaves. As well as defending against herbivores, spines help prevent water loss by reducing air flow close to the cactus and providing some shade. In the absence of leaves, enlarged stems carry out photosynthesis. Cacti are native to the Americas, ranging from Patagonia in the south to parts of western Canada in the north—except for Rhipsalis baccifera, which also grows in Africa and Sri Lanka.

<i>Citrus</i> genus of fruit-bearing plants (source of fruit such as lemons and oranges)

Citrus is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes.

Legacy

Because of his significant role in the development of the area, Shary was named to the Texas Business Hall of Fame and is remembered as the "Father of the Texas Citrus Industry". He greatly assisted in the establishment of citrus as a productive commercial crop in the Rio Grande Valley. Since 1932, the Texas Citrus Fiesta has been held to commemorate the abundant harvest of the Texas citrus industry. To this day, this area is known for producing some of the sweetest and best quality citrus in the world.

He purchased 36,000 acres (150 km²) of land near Mission. This area would later become known as "Sharyland." Also, the south end of Shary's estate, also formally known as "Shary Farms", was bought by Hunt Realty Corporation and developed into a suburban community by the name of Sharyland Plantation.

West Sharyland, Texas Census-designated place in Texas

West Sharyland is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hidalgo County, Texas. The population was 2,309 at the 2010 United States Census. It is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission Metropolitan Statistical Area.

A landmark that still stands today is the Sharyland school, which he had built to educate the children of the many families who made their home in the area. Shary was President of the Board of Trustees for Sharyland ISD. He served from its formation in 1922 until he retired in 1939.

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