O the way back from Bastrop, where we and the chillun spent Thanksgiving with the kinfolk, we stopped at Rosie's Diner in downtown Cuero for their chicken-fried steak with gravy and the kiddos had the usual burger, just pickles and ketchup, please.
The town has a definite old-time flavor enhanced by the historic reconstruction of turn-of-the century buildings along the city's main drag.
About two doors down from the diner is a museum. It is also a vintage building and is called the Chisholm Trail Museum.
Inside, the curator – or perhaps the volunteer showing folks around – gave us a mini tour of the exhibits and told us how the film makers of the Lonesome Dove movie had been hired to prepare a short film of the town's link to Texas history.It was actually a rather nice, professionally done film and the museum's exhibit told of how Cuero was the pivot point for the cattle streams of the old cattle drives that started from various spots on the Texas map.
"We're from Brownsville," we told her. "Actually, we have a marker in Alice Wilson "Hope" Park that indicates it was the start of the trail."
"Brownsville?," she asked. "I didn't know that Brownsville was on the trail."
A booklet prepared by the Texas historical Commission was among the literature available for visitors and we leafed through it. Sure enough. Among the pages was the map that pointed out the cities that made up the Chisholm Trail. Brownsville was at the very beginning.
"Do you guys have a museum down there?," she asked.
"No, we don't," we said. "There is a marker near the Border Wall that indicates the start. But that's about it."
"Well, that's just a shame," she said. "You tell folks about our museum and maybe they can come up here and they'll learn about it."
The pamphlet reads:
"The original Chisholm Trail crossed the entire state of Texas south to north, from Brownsville to Nocona, before heading to parts farther upcountry and out of state. But the Rio Grande and its borderlands, the soul of the Tropical Trail region, was where many cattle drives began. Every year, longhorn cattle were gathered all along this southernmost region and driven northward.
The livestock were pushed onward to Kansas in order to reach the nearest railroad shipping depots so folks in Boston and Philadelphia could continue enjoying their beefsteak. Museums and state historic sites across the Tropical Trail region commemorate the Chisholm's cattle-driving history as many of our Rio Grande Valley and coastal communities played an integral part in its heritage."
We looked at the narrative on Brownsville and found out that it was actually a story about Brownsville's Founder Charles Stillman and his relationship with cattle barons Richard King and Mifflin Kenedy and talked about his house in Brownsville. That's it.
It's not like other people haven't realized the historical significance of the start of the trail here. In September 2001, two members of the Chisholm Trail Association placed another plaque, one of more than 400 placed along the cattle route, at Hope Park with Frank Yturria. It is now damaged and is next to the one by the Texas Historical Commission.
Our question is "why?"
Why does Brownsville continue to ignore its history while other towns like little Cuero celebrate it and make it a stop for historical tourism? It's futile to name all the things that make it the most historic city in Texas second only to San Antonio. Every city along the Texas Independence Trail has sites and museums for the traveling public to stop and learn about, spending a few bucks for gas or food while they're at it. And don't forget the souvenir for Tia Socorro who didn't get to come along on this trip.
We could talk about Porfirio Dias making revolution from Brownsville and eventually toppling the Mexican government to establish his dictatorship. Or Juan Cortina, who eventually became governor of Tamaulipas, occupying Brownsville for three days from his mother's ranch in San Pedro, etc., but we don't.
We're content to have a ranch house honoring Stillman, a slave owner and turncoat against the Union who profited from the blood of Americans during the Civil War as our historic signature and ignore the wealth of historic events that occurred here. If you can stomach the ugly Border Wall, go to Hope Park and look at the plaque of the Chisholm Trail. Then see what the folks in Cuero have done with the little piece of history that passed by their streets hundreds of years ago.
We looked at the narrative on Brownsville and found out that it was actually a story about Brownsville's Founder Charles Stillman and his relationship with cattle barons Richard King and Mifflin Kenedy and talked about his house in Brownsville. That's it.It's not like other people haven't realized the historical significance of the start of the trail here. In September 2001, two members of the Chisholm Trail Association placed another plaque, one of more than 400 placed along the cattle route, at Hope Park with Frank Yturria. It is now damaged and is next to the one by the Texas Historical Commission.
Our question is "why?"
Why does Brownsville continue to ignore its history while other towns like little Cuero celebrate it and make it a stop for historical tourism? It's futile to name all the things that make it the most historic city in Texas second only to San Antonio. Every city along the Texas Independence Trail has sites and museums for the traveling public to stop and learn about, spending a few bucks for gas or food while they're at it. And don't forget the souvenir for Tia Socorro who didn't get to come along on this trip.
We could talk about Porfirio Dias making revolution from Brownsville and eventually toppling the Mexican government to establish his dictatorship. Or Juan Cortina, who eventually became governor of Tamaulipas, occupying Brownsville for three days from his mother's ranch in San Pedro, etc., but we don't.
We're content to have a ranch house honoring Stillman, a slave owner and turncoat against the Union who profited from the blood of Americans during the Civil War as our historic signature and ignore the wealth of historic events that occurred here. If you can stomach the ugly Border Wall, go to Hope Park and look at the plaque of the Chisholm Trail. Then see what the folks in Cuero have done with the little piece of history that passed by their streets hundreds of years ago.
15 comments:
It would seem that the only history Brownsville people are interested in, is how badly they were treated by the pinche gringos. History from north of the checkpoint is of little interest to them. Now Mexican history, they can get into that.
I have known of this my whole life. Seems as if you are the one ignorant of our history.
No, but we got el tecorucho de los Stillman! We have La Casa de Nylon and Valentin Dept Store that are ready to make Brownsville beautiful once Tony finishes with them. Look at the budget they assign to the museums down here when we are the most historical area south of San Antonio and should have first-class museums available. Most of our students don't even know the history of Brownsville or the Chisholm Trail. When were we taught that when we went to school in the 50, 60, 70, 80, and even now?
As Jed Clampett would say " Pityful, just pitiful."
"In 1854, Chisum moved to Denton County where he settled on Clear Creek, three miles above the town of Bolivar. He soon went to work for a large rancher as a cowboy and started to develop his own herd. It was during this time that Chisum purchased a mulatto slave girl named Jensie from some emigrants bound for California. The girl was just 15 years old and beautiful and Chisum began a love affair with her. The couple had two daughters."
He also freed his slaves at onset of Civil War. Check link or Google it.
https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-johnchisum/
Show proof that Stillman had slaves, please.
What about San Antonio? They have cashed in on their history tourism. So much so that Even some B'ville folks claim they are Texas's most historical city. Utter Non sense.
But Brownsville has corruption in every corner of old downtown Brownsville. Brownsville should have the first museum of corruption cause Brownsville has plenty of experience in state, county, city and international stupidity.
Poor idiots of brownsville, always looking for something to claim as their own.
Folks get John Chisum, an early cattle driver up what is known as the Great Western Trail and Jesse Chisholm a Scot-Cherokee who laid out what has become known as The Chisholm Trail. Even though their last names are pronounced the same, they are entirely different people associated with entirely different cattle trails.
We are sure that if you feel so strongly about the relationship between Brownsville and the Chisholm Trail, you should present this to the Brownsville Historical Museum or the other historical museum and perhaps the Chisholm Trail information will be put on display. Your interest in history is surely not shared by most of the residents of Brownsville. Our museums are not visited very much by locals. Winter Texans are interested in History, but not locals, especially young people. Our children, our legacy; are more interested in "hanging out"; not learning about the history of this area.
Blogger of Nov 27 at 4:07, I hate to disappoint you, but our children want to learn about the history of Brownsville. They love to sit and listen to stories as we visit and volunteer our time to them. It may be they only like to get away from all the testing stuff, but they are curious and interested in the many stories share with them. If only history teachers had time to really dwell into the topic, but STAARS get in the way. As an adult, I took it upon myself to learn about my city and expand on the stories told to me by my grandparents who were founding members of our town in the mid 1850's and because I have now researched it myself, I understand why they were proud members of society. Hit the history books and learn. It is embarrassing for an outsider (Knopp and Kearney) to write books on the history of Brownsville when so many of us born and raised here can not even tell you when Brownsville became a city.
The Chisholm Trail is much like the old Ho Chi Minn trail in Viet Nam. It is not one trail, but a network of trails, branches off a central trunk. There was no one starting place. There are a number of places that can say they were when the Chisholm Trail started. Folks are not doing their homework on this issue.
"It is embarrassing for an outsider (Knopp and Kearney)... " What's more embarrassing is how ignorant the local populace and prominent genteel families are about their heritage and history. Knopp and Kearney did more to preserve our history than all the local historians combined who never bothered to write their family history and died with it.
Its not the chisholm trail its the bike trail. Now we know.
Eres un pendejo.
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