Mico is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in northeastern Medina County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is approximately west of

Downtown San Antonio Downtown San Antonio is the central business district of San Antonio, Texas, United States. It also serves as the urban core of Greater San Antonio, a metropolitan area with nearly 2.5 million people. In addition to being encircled by Loops 1604 ...

off

Farm to Market Road 1283 A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

. The community is part of the San Antonio

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

(MSA). Its zip code is 78056. The Medina Irrigation Company (MICO) originally built much of the community as a workers camp, to house the approximately 1500 Mexican laborers (and their families) who constructed

Medina Dam The Medina Dam is a hollow-masonry type dam built in 1911 and 1912 by the Medina Irrigation Company in what became Mico, Texas, USA. Medina Lake extends north of it in northeastern Medina County and southeastern Bandera County. The dam and irri ...

. It was the fourth largest dam in the United States at its completion in 1913. The dam has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The dam created Lake Medina, a reservoir to supply water for irrigation of an estimated . The company was founded by Dr.

Frederick Stark Pearson Frederick Stark Pearson (July 3, 1861 – May 7, 1915) was an American electrical engineer and entrepreneur. Biography Dr. Frederick Stark Pearson was the son of Ambrose and Hannah (Edgerly) Pearson. He graduated from Tufts University in 1883 w ...

, an engineer and developer who designed the dam and raised private project funding, chiefly by the sale of subscriptions to British investors. The outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

cut off the flow of capital for sale of farmland dependent on the project. Pearson's company went into receivership in 1914 and was sold finally at public auction in 1924. Today the dam and lake are operated by a local water authority. The town was first named MICO, spelled in capital letters after the company's

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

. The town was renamed Medina Lake in 1916, but reverted to the name Mico in 1923. Today, Mico has a Volunteer City Council Manager, and operates a Volunteer Fire Department. Tourist, will enjoy the entertainment by visiting the local bars in town. For overnight travel, the bed and breakfast should be your first stop.

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