Brownsville a 'Texas treasure' for keeping history alive

Brownsville is a historical treasure. So said the state’s First Lady in an official acknowledgment Tuesday.

The city received the First Lady’s Texas Treasures Award in the well-known Alonso Building on St. Charles Street Tuesday.

The event showcased a video about the history of Brownsville created by the Texas Historical Commission and also featured remarks from THC executive director Mark Wolfe and Brownsville city officials.

“Nobody should be condemned to grow up in a city without a past,” Peter Goodman, Historic District Downtown director said in the video, which is now available online.

The award is given annually by the Texas Historical Commission and is now in its third year.

“Texas Treasures are communities that go the extra mile to discover their roots, teach living history lessons, and create a lasting legacy for future generations,” Texas First Lady Anita Perry said in a statement from Austin.

Brownsville is the first city named out of three expected to be given the 2011 award.

Cities named in previous years include San Marcos, Waxahachie and Georgetown.

Another event Tuesday to celebrate Brownsville’s past was a tour of historic Fort Brown on the campus of the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College.

Below where the feet of university students tread today, there was once the hallowed land of a national cemetery, UTB-TSC archivist John Hawthorne said during the tour.

Also unveiled was a permanent exhibition in the Oliveira Library about Fort Brown.

The university offers guided tours and now features an audio walking tour, administrators said. Digital audio players may be checked out at the Oliveira Library archives room.

A multitude of Fort Brown artifacts were on display, from 19th century cavalry swords and huge shell casings to a photo of two soldiers, one with cigarette in hand, with a dog at their feet in the shade of palms on the undeveloped land.

Wendy Allstot, a resident of South Padre Island, said she went on the tour because it was one of the city’s historical spots she had never explored.

“I think that there are many things that attract people to this area and I think that adds to all the things that they have to offer,” she said.