City of Brownsville history

Lawmakers of the republic and the state of Texas made several attempts to establish a state university, beginning in 1837.

After Texas’ annexation into the United States in 1845, and ongoing disputes regarding the Texas boundary, General Zachary Taylor was dispatched to establish a base at Point Isabel and construct an earthen fort directly across the river from Matamoros.

On March 28, 1846, General Zachary Taylor placed the United States flag on the site (then part of Matamoros) and constructed a fort.

The settlement that sprung up around the fort was called Brownsville; a founding date of 1848 is generally accepted for the city.

Incorporated in 1853, Brownsville was already the county seat of Cameron County.

At Austin, the largest campus (founded 1881) in the University of Texas System, about 100 undergraduate degree programs and about 180 graduate degree programs are available in 15 schools and colleges.

Modern Brownsville got its start when the first standard-gauge railroad arrived from Kingsville in 1904.

The city was the scene of the Brownsville Affair of 1906, in which black soldiers were unjustly accused of murdering a white man and wounding another.

In 1907, Brownsville got its first electric and water plants after local residents unanimously voted for the issuance of bonds to construct a utility system.

The Brownsville-Matamoros bridge was completed by 1910.

The Brownsville Independent School District was formed in 1915; a year later the high school was built.

Firsts for Brownsville continued in 1929 with the first Pan American flight to Mexico City, piloted by none other than Charles Lindbergh.

During the 1930’s, the opening of the Port of Brownsville and the inauguration of Charro Days, the annual Mexican-themed bi-cultural festival, helped ease matters from an economic and social perspective.

And In 1936, the port of Brownsville was opened, providing a deep-sea outlet to and from any port in the world.

Fort Brown was decommissioned on February 1, 1946.

Brownsville’s economy is augmented by tourism, based on the nearby Boca Chica Beach, the Padre Island National Seashore (established 1962), and gateway facilities to Mexico.