Rio RV Park |
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Brownsville,
Texas |
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Historic Brownsville |
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| Brownsville's Historical Legacy - Day Trips at the bottom of the page. | |
| Rio RV Park presents a look at the history of Brownsville,
Texas. You will be able to visit many of these historic locations with
the information on this site and a city map. Rio RV Park has a map with
the locations marked for your convenience. The second page is available
by clicking a link at the bottom of this page for the complete trail
with description of each historical significant location. You can return
to the Rio RV Park home page for more information and activities in Brownsville
and the park. |
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| Brownsville exemplifies many aspects
of the special heritage of the Rio Grande Valley. Events that took place
here have profoundly influenced the development of Texas and the United
States. |
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| The course of Mexican and United States history
was forever changed by the opening battle of the Mexican-American War
at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma in 1846. With the onset of the Civil
War, Confederate cotton exports left via neutral Mexico from the Port
of Bagdad, at the mouth of the Rio Grande, to evade the Union blockade.
Brownsville traders and intriguers prospered as part of the lifeline
of survival for the Confederacy. The last battle of the Civil War, the
Battle of Palmito Ranch (east of Brownsville) was fought May 13, 1865,
five weeks after Lee's surrender at Appomatox. |
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| Brownsville's history encompasses wars and bandit raids, but
the story is incomplete without mention of the progress achieved through
the peaceful cooperation and friendship of the people of Brownsville
and H. Matamoros. |
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| The evidence is seen in the inventiveness of nineteenth century
Brownsville builders who combined the Mexican-Spanish Colonial architectural
traditions with formal and folk building practices from Texas to forge
a unique, Rio Grande Valley architecture. Outstanding examples of this
stylistic mixture include: The Gem, Las Madrilena, La Nueva Libertad,
and the Field-Pacheco Complex. |
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Buildings, like people, change and evolve. Brownsville has attained a notable record for its adaptive use of old structures as seen in the reuse of the Souther Pacific Depot which now serves aas the Historic Brownsville Museum. |
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| Our sense of the past is developed by our knowledge of history,
and by understanding the accumulated heritage of art and architecture.
As you walk Brownsville's Heritage Trail, enjoy the diverse neighborhoods
that contribute to Brownsville's character: the residential neighborhood
at St. Charles Street, the Market Square area, the Country Courthouse
area, the City Cemetery near the Deport and the former Fort Brown Military
Reservation. |
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| Allow most of the day to walk each
individual Heritage Trail segment and sufficient time to visit the two
public museums. Another phase of your visit will be the driving tour
of area battlefields. Give yourself enough time to experience all the
sites at a relaxing pace. |
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| Just across the Gateway Bridge from Brownsville is not only another country, but another world as well, Mexico. Visitors to Mexico should not miss stopping to see the Main Plaza with its Cathedral, the Market and Fort Casa Mata Museum. | |
| Visit these
heritage sites, get to know our citizens, and enjoy the process of discovery. | |
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Call
us to talk about your Trip to the Tip - of Texas! |
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| Brownsville Historic Tours | |
| Downtown | Fort Brown | County Court House | Market Square | Depot | E Madison St. | Fifth Street | Palm Blvd | St Charles Street | |
| Mexico Tours | |
| Matamoros | Progreso | |
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