Harlingen (/ˈhɑːrlɪndʒɪn/ HAR-lin-jin)[6] is a city in Cameron County in the central region of the Rio Grande Valley of the southern part of the U.S. state of Texas, about 30 miles (48 km) from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

In 1904, Lon C. Hill (a man of Choctaw ancestry[7]) envisioned the Rio Grande as a commercial waterway.

Local enterprise, focused on the purchase and use of the abandoned base and related housing, laid the groundwork for continuing progress through a diversified economy.

In the late 1980s, income from tourism ranked second only to citrus fruit production, with grain and cotton next in order.

The addition of wholesale and retail trade, light and medium manufacturing, and an array of service industries has broadened the economic base.

The city's outstanding network of health-care specialists and facilities parallels the growth of the still-expanding center.

Fraternal orders and civic organizations operating in the community include Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, Optimist, 20–30, VFW, American Legion, and the Lower Valley Cotillion Club; a woman's building is maintained as a center for the activities of the many woman's clubs active in the city.

Each March, Harlingen is the site of the Rio Grande Valley International Music Festival.

As in other cities in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, a significant part of Harlingen's transient population and a significant contributor to its economy consists of "Winter Texans", generally retirees from the northern Midwestern states and Canada, who come to escape the northern winter weather between roughly November and April.

Harlingen is governed by a mayor elected at-large and a five-member city commission representing five individual single-member districts.

The department's Mission Statement is, "It is the mission of the Harlingen Police Department to provide services with integrity and dedication, to preserve life, to enforce the law, and to work in partnership with the community to enhance the quality of life in the City of Harlingen.

The Marine Military Academy is a private, all-male, college preparatory school located in Harlingen.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine welcomed its first students in the summer of 2016.

Most recently, Harlingen was the home of the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings, a minor league baseball team that existed from 1994 to 2003 and from 2006 to 2015.

Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Gaylord Perry played for the Rio Grande Valley Giants in 1960.

The grandstand has over 400 monitors to pick up the 50-plus Simulcast Live Racing signals from the top Greyhound and horse tracks from all around the United States.

The two-story center will include a gift shop, observation tower, meeting rooms, and enclosed viewing areas.

[37] The Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival occurs each November in Harlingen, attracting up to 3,000 participants per year.

[38] 10,000-capacity J. Lewis Boggus Stadium has an all-weather artificial playing surface and is located in downtown Harlingen.

With a 38-room emergency department and a heliport, Valley Baptist serves as the lead trauma center in the region, and is the only hospital in the area offering comprehensive stroke services, including advanced endovascular neurology procedures.

The 41–bed hospital is owned by Solara Healthcare of Dallas, Valley Baptist Health System, and local physicians.

[44] Su Clinica Familiar offers services tailored to the border region, concentrating in the areas of dentistry, internal medicine, women's health, and pediatrics.

Both of these facilities fall under the VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System.

[46][47] The Harlingen Ambulatory Surgery and Specialty Outpatient Center opened in January 2011 and provides care to veterans.

[48] Orthopedics, urology, gastroenterology, otolaryngology, infectious disease, dermatology, cardiology, oncology, neurology, rheumatology, amputee/prosthetics, and endoscopy services are offered.

[49] The Rio Grande State Center offers outpatient medical healthcare and in-patient mental health services.

Valley International Airport lies in the northeastern portion of Harlingen and offers a border-crossing option via the Free Trade Bridge at Los Indios.

The city is working to build a public transit center as a hub for bus lines to Harlingen.

With a full U.S. Customs inspection facility that accommodates up to 75 trucks simultaneously, the Free Trade Bridge is acclaimed as the most time-efficient border crossing in the valley.

The Harlingen Channel is maintained to a width of 125 feet (38 m) and a depth of 12 ft (3.7 m) and is supplied by the Arroyo Colorado, a freshwater river.