Timeline of Brownsville, Texas

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Brownsville, Texas, USA.

18th-19th centuries

• 1771 - José Salvador de la Garza settles in area per Espíritu Santo land grant.[1][2][3]
• 1846
  • March: Fort Taylor established by Zachary Taylor.[4][5]
  • May 8: Battle of Palo Alto.[4]
• 1848 - Brownsville founded by Charles Stillman.[6][5]
• 1849
  • Travellers of the California Gold Rush pass through town.[6]
  • Stillman house built.[6]
  • Brownsville Lyceum founded.[7]
• 1850
  • Market Square built.[8]
  • Sentinel newspaper begins publication.[9]
  • Population: 2,734.
• 1853 - "Police force" established.[10]
• 1859
  • First Cortina War.[5]
  • Immaculate Conception Church built.[6]
• 1863 - November 2–6: Battle of Brownsville; Union wins.[4]
• 1865
  • May 12–13: Battle of Palmito Ranch fought near Brownsville; Confederates win.[4]
  • Saint Joseph Academy established.
• 1867 - Hurricane.[9]
• 1870
  • Point Isabel-Brownsville railway built.[6]
  • Population: 4,905.
• 1874 - Roman Catholic apostolic vicariate of Brownsville established.[11]
• 1875 - Porfirio Díaz plots Mexican coup from his temporary base in Brownsville.[12][6]
• 1877 - Alonso house built.[8]
• 1878 - Sabas Cavazos Cemetery established.[3][10]
• 1883 - Cameron County Courthouse built.[10]
• 1890 - Population: 6,134.
• 1892 - Daily Herald newspaper begins publication.[13]

20th century

• 1904 - St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway begins operating.[6]
• 1906 - August: Brownsville Affair (racial unrest).[14]
• 1907 - Snakeville in business.[15][16]
• 1910
  • Brownsville & Matamoros International Bridge opens.[10]
  • Dittmann Theater (cinema) built.[15]
  • Population: 10,517.
• 1913 - County Jail built.[10]
• 1914 - New Cameron County Courthouse built.
• 1926 - Junior College of the Lower Rio Grande Valley established.
• 1927 - KGFI radio begins broadcasting.[17]
• 1930 - Population: 22,021.
• 1934 - El Heraldo de Brownsville newspaper begins publication.[13]
• 1936 - Port of Brownsville opens.[14]
• 1938 - Matamoros-Brownsville Charro Days Festival begins.[18]
• 1945 - U.S. Army Fort Brown decommissioned.
• 1946 - Teatro Victoria in business.[19]
• 1949 - Charro Drive-In cinema and Majestic Theatre in business.[19]
• 1950
  • Texas Southmost College active.
  • Population: 35,086.
• 1960
  • Stillman House Museum opens.[8]
  • Population: 48,040.
• 1965 - Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville established.[11]
• 1970 - Population: 52,522.
• 1971 - Gladys Porter Zoo established.[20]
• 1978 - Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site established. (Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park since 2009.)
• 1979 - Brownsville Urban System (transport) established.
• 1980 - Population: 84,997.
• 1990 - Population: 98,962.
• 1991
  • University of Texas at Brownsville active.
  • Pat Ahumada becomes mayor.
• 1997 - City website online (approximate date).[21]
• 1999 - Blanca Vela becomes mayor.
• 2000 - Population: 139,722.

21st century

• 2001 - El Nuevo Heraldo newspaper in publication.[13]
• 2007 - Pat Ahumada becomes mayor again.
• 2010 - Population: 175,023.[22]
• 2013 - Filemon Vela, Jr. becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 34th congressional district.[23]
• 2018 - Trey Mendez elected mayor

See also

• Brownsville, Texas history
• Matamoros, Mexico history
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Cameron County, Texas
• Timelines of other cities in the South Texas area of Texas: Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen, San Antonio

References

1. Simons 1996.
2. Armando C. Alonzo (1998). Tejano Legacy: Rancheros and Settlers in South Texas, 1734-1900. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 978-0-8263-2850-2.
3. Awbrey 2013.
4. Britannica 1910.
5. Webster's Geographical Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts: G. & C. Merriam Co., 1960, p. 164, OL 5812502M
6. Federal Writers' Project 1940.
7. Davies Project. "American Libraries before 1876". Princeton University. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
8. "Our Locations". Brownsville Historical Association. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
9. "Major Historical Events (timeline)". Brownsville & Matamoros History. University of Texas at Brownsville. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
10. "Historical Landmarks of Brownsville". Brownsville & Matamoros History. University of Texas at Brownsville. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
11. "Chronology of Catholic Dioceses: USA". Norway: Roman Catholic Diocese of Oslo. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
12. Paul Garner (2014). "Chronology". Porfirio Diaz. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-88705-8.
13. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
14. Federal Writers' Project 1940, p. 671: "Chronology"
15. Gene Fowler (2008). Mavericks: A Gallery of Texas Characters. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-71819-7.
16. "Makes His Living by Boarding Fifty Thousand Snakes". Illustrated World. Chicago. 37. June 1922. OCLC 1752683.
17. Jack Alicoate, ed. (1939), "Standard Broadcasting Stations of the United States: Texas", Radio Annual, New York: Radio Daily, OCLC 2459636
18. "Handbook of Texas Online". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
19. "Movie Theaters in Brownsville, TX". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
20. Vernon N. Kisling, Jr., ed. (2001). "Zoological Gardens of the United States (chronological list)". Zoo and Aquarium History. USA: CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4200-3924-5.
21. "Brownsville Texas Home Page". Archived from the original on January 1997 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
22. "Brownsville city, Texas". QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
23. Civic Impulse, LLC. "Members of Congress". GovTrack. Washington, D.C. Retrieved June 27, 2016.

Bibliography

• "Brownsville". Texas State Gazetteer and Business Directory. Detroit: R.L. Polk & Co. 1890 – via Internet Archive.
• W. H. Chatfield, The Twin Cities of the Border and the Country of the Lower Rio Grande (New Orleans: Brandao, 1893)
• "Brownsville", Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.), New York, 1910, OCLC 14782424
• Federal Writers' Project (1940), "Brownsville", Texas: A Guide to the Lone Star State, American Guide Series, New York: Hastings House – via HathiTrust + chronology
• Betty Bay. Historic Brownsville: Original Townsite Guide (Brownsville, Texas: Brownsville Historical Association, 1980)
• Robert B. Vezzetti and Ruby A. Wooldridge, Brownsville: A Pictorial History (Virginia Beach, Virginia: Donning, 1982)
• Milo Kearney, ed., Studies in Brownsville History (Pan American University at Brownsville, 1986)
• Milo Kearney and Anthony Knopp, Boom and Bust: The Historical Cycles of Matamoros and Brownsville (Austin: Eakin Press, 1991)
• Milo Kearney, ed., Still More Studies in Brownsville History (University of Texas at Brownsville, 1991)
• Helen Simons; Cathryn A. Hoyt, eds. (1996). "Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley: Brownsville". A Guide to Hispanic Texas (Abridged ed.). University of Texas Press. pp. 81+. ISBN 978-0-292-77709-5.
• Carl S. Chilton (2010). Historic Brownsville: an Illustrated History. San Antonio, Tx.: Historical Publishing Network. ISBN 978-1-935377-15-3.
• Betty Dooley Awbrey; Stuart Awbrey (2013). "Brownsville". Why Stop?: A Guide to Texas Roadside Historical Markers (6th ed.). Taylor Trade Publishing. p. 63+. ISBN 978-1-58979-790-1.

External links

• "Brownsville". Texas Archive of the Moving Image. Austin, TX.
• "Historical Maps of Texas Cities: Brownsville". Perry–Castañeda Library Map Collection. University of Texas at Austin.
• Alicia A. Garza; Christopher Long. "Brownsville, TX". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
• Items related to Brownsville, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).