Architecture
1912 Cameron County Courthouse
This classically styled public building has been central for Cameron County government for nearly a century. Texas and Mexico both claimed this area after 1836. The Texas Legislature created Cameron County in 1848, even before the land was officially made part of Texas and the U.S. by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Named for Scottish-born Ewen Cameron (c.
History
1912 Cameron County Jail
Originally built as a three-story structure in 1912, this building, Cameron County's second jailhouse, was enlarged with the addition of a 4th floor about 1929. The 1912 structure was designed by prominent architect Atlee B. Ayers and the 1929 addition by Ayers and his son and partner Robert Ayers. The building's classical revival style is a distinctive design for this type of resource.
History
1923 Point Isabel Coast Guard Building
The federal government has operated a coastal installation at Point Isabel since 1852. This structure is the third permanent building erected here, one of a line of nine stations established along the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to the Texas-Mexico border.
History
A.C. Purvis House
San Benito was a "paper" town with no Anglo-American residents when Albanus Clemens Purvis (1850-1919) came here from Ohio to seek health. He became first Justice of the Peace, sold real estate, and farmed. His daughter Kate (later Mrs. J. Scott Brown) taught first school in 1907; daughter Emma (later Mrs. Asa Agar) was an early Postmaster, in 1911.
Architecture
Alonso Complex
Spanish-born Manuel Alonso (1846-1922) constructed the one-story residence on this site in 1877 and added the two-story mercantile building by 1890. His "Los Dos Canones" mercantile was a popular gathering place for local residents. French and Spanish influences are evident in the cast iron porch elements (probably from New Orleans), French windows and corbelled brickwork.
Architecture
Alta Vista Apartments
Constructed in 1931 for the Gaskill-Hodgson Company, this Mediterranean Style structure is the oldest apartment building in Port Isabel. A survivor of numerous coastal storms and hurricanes, the complex originally consisted of three each one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and efficiency apartments.
History
Arroyo Colorado Lift Bridge
The Arroyo Colorado is the Lower Rio Grande Valley's only natural waterway besides the Rio Grande. The 89-mile stream extends from mission in Hidalgo County to the lower Laguna Madre in Cameron County. From early colonization in the late 1700s, the Arroyo has been an impediment to travel, with only two prominent locations to cross.
Architecture
Augustine Celaya House
Built in 1904, this Late Victorian home exhibits features of the Italianate and Queen Anne styles of architecture. Owners Augustine and Laura Celaya designed the home, which became prominent in the social and civic life of the city.
History
Bagdad-Matamoros, C.S.A.
Civil War "Sister Cities", across the river in neutral Mexico. Were linked to Texas by a ferry which landed here. Ferry hauled to Matamoros the Confederate cotton brought from East Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas to Brownsville. In Matamoros, many speculators and agents vied for cotton to ship to Europe, via Havana. They offered in exchange vital goods: guns, ammunition, drugs, shoes, cloth.
History
Baldemar "Freddy Fender" Garza Huerta
Known as Freddy Fender or El Bebop Kid (the Mexican Elvis Presley), Baldemar Garza Huerta achieved great success as a Tejano, rock and country singer for over fifty years. Born on this site in San Benito on June 4, 1937, he first performed in a Harlingen talent show at radio station KGBT where he won first prize. For years, he performed and won local talent shows.
Architecture
Barreda House
This house was designed by architect Ben Clark and built in 1928-1929 for the firm of Barnes and Kenny for the family of Celestino Pardo Barreda (1858-1953). A 2-story buff brick Spanish Colonial Revival style house, it features twisted cast stone columns, iron balcony railings, a Mission parapet, and a sunroom with arched wood casement windows.
History
Battle of Palmito Ranch
The last land engagement of the Civil War was fought near this site on May 12-13, 1865, thirty-four days after Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox. Col. Theodore H. Barrett commanded Federal troops on Brazos Island 12 miles to the east. The Confederates occupied Fort Brown 12 miles to the west, commanded by Gen. James E. Slaughter and Col. John S.
History
Bobby Joe Morrow
Born in nearby Rangerville to Bob Floyd (1907-1983) and Mattie Lucille (1908-1996) Morrow, Bobby Joe Morrow (1935-2020) grew up in a simple clapboard house on a 600-acre cotton farm. Morrow began running by chasing jackrabbits. He attended San Benito High School where he played football and, in 1951, started competing in track and field.
Military
Brazos Santiago Pass and Brazos Island Military Depot
Named by the Spanish, Brazos Santiago Pass is a narrow passageway extending inward from the sea. The pass lies between Brazos Island and Padre Island. The changing depths of the pass channel kept large vessels from entering, but offered seclusion to smaller ships. The entire area proved strategically important in a variety of military conflicts.
Military
Brazos Santiago, C.S.A.
Brazos Santiago Pass, to south of this spot, was important Confederate harbor-entry during the Civil War. On island across the pass were fort and town of Brazos Santiago, where on Feb. 21, 1861, Texas troops under Col. John S. Ford captured the U.S. depot with mortars, siege guns and ordnance. A Confederate battery was then set up. In March 1861, off the bar, on U.S.S. "Daniel Webster", E.B.
Architecture
Browne-Wagner House
This structure, with its molded cornice, is a good example of the large brick residences erected in Brownsville in the late 19th Century. It was built in 1894 for Mary Josephine Glaevecke Browne, widow of Cameron County Sheriff Matthew L. ("Theo") Browne. The architect was Samuel W. Brooks (1829-1903), who designed many public and private buildings in this area. Martha Landrum (Mrs. Robert E.
History
Brownsville City Cemetery
Although this cemetery was not formally deeded to the City of Brownsville until 1868, dates on marked tombstones indicate the site was being used as a graveyard by the late 1850s. Buried here are some of the earliest settlers to arrive in this part of the Rio Grande Valley, including The Rev.
History
Brownsville-Matamoros Ferries and River Boardwalk
Ferry service along this stretch of the Rio Grande evolved as population in the area increased. In 1836, General Jose Urrea used rowboats at the Paso Real ferry near the later site of Fort Brown en route to Goliad. General Vicente Filisola used the same service on his retreat from the Battle of San Jacinto.
History
Brownsville, C.S.A.
A major center of activity for Confederacy, chief depot for war material and supplies imported from Europe through neutral port of Bagdad, Mexico. Terminus of cotton road. Point of entry and departure for important personages of South in intercourse with outside world. Occupied by large Federal expeditionary force Nov. 6, 1863 after Confederates had destroyed Ft.
History
Cameron County
Created February 12, 1848 Since 1535 men of all nations of the earth sailed the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the green valley of the Rio Grande in search of happiness, and each found it in his own time and in his own way. 1535 Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca 1686 Alonzo de Leon, Fr.
History
Cameron County
Created February 21, 1848; From Nueces County; Organized August 7, 1848; Named in honor of Ewen Cameron, 1811-1843; Captain in the Mier Expedition; Shot at Queretaro; County Seat, Santa Rita 1848-1849; Brownsville, since the earliest battles of the Mexican War, and the last battle of the Civil War were fought in this county
Architecture
Cameron County Courthouse of 1883-1914
Completed in 1883, this was the first courthouse built by Cameron County officials, who previously rented or purchased office space. This three-story brick structure served as the county courthouse until 1914, when a new building was erected. Rio Grande Lodge No. 81, A.F.&A.M., then occupied this structure. The original roof, with its gables and central tower, was removed during remodeling.
History
Camp Belknap
In May 1846 when war was declared against Mexico, the U.S. Congress authorized the raising of 50,000 volunteer troops to supplement the regular U.S. Army. General Zachary Taylor was quickly inundated with volunteer soldiers arriving at Brazos Santiago, and was forced to place them in temporary encampments. Camp Belknap, located on this site, was established in the summer of 1846.
History
Campo Santo Viejo
Planned as all of block 144 of the original townsite in 1848 and active by 1852, Campo Santo Viejo was the first official cemetery in Brownsville. The city abandoned the site in 1864, but burials continued into the 1870s. The property was redeveloped for residential and commercial uses, and in time, Campo Santo Viejo faded from memory, with no visible headstones or graves.
History
Cavazos House
Fannie Seward Cavazos (1844-1928) moved from Ohio during the Civil War to Bagdad, Mexico. She came to Brownsville in 1870 with her husband, Wenceslao Cavazos. After his death in 1882 Fannie began a successful Mexican-style lace drawnwork business. She helped establish the Mexican Presbyterian Church in Brownsville.
Elsewhere in Texas
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