Heritage Tourism is a job-creating industry, and an easy victory for Brownsville.
It is very labor intensive, creating many jobs for hotels, restaurants, bars, student interpreters, educators, and historical buff conventions. There is no easier, cheaper, nor faster way to create new jobs for our local economy.
All of Brownsville's many industrial developers should target market this industry. Restoring the original Fort Brown and it's adjacent US military graveyard, would be a worthwhile project. Presently they are lost in the high weeds somewhere just down river from our historic downtown. Let's save Fort Brown from the weeds, giving our many Winter Texan and Mexican national tourists more attractions to keep them here longer, seducing them away from Hidalgo County.
We have so much more to offer. What's wrong with a new city park there, or at least cut the weeds, and document the reason Brownsville was invented in the first place ?
The National Park Service will tell you quickly, that their Palo Alto story is not complete, without bringing attention to the reason that battle was fought. The US Army's first graduating class from West Point fought bravely there, and at Resaca de la Palma, rushing much needed supplies from US Naval ships anchored at Los Brazos de Santiago, (the USA's first deep water seaport), to Ft. Brown. It was a rescue mission to save the besieged outpost, and a good try to save our ill-fated namesake Major Jacob Brown, from an intense artillery bombardment from Casa Mata, and other forts in Matamoros. Soldiers wrote that they could hear the ferocious, frightening, and thunderous artillery duel all the way in distant Port Isabel.
And during their forced march to Fort Brown, it just got louder and louder, and scarier and scarier.
These men marched through a valley-of-death scenario on their way to save Fort Brown, and indeed met death and stared it down, at Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and at Fort Brown.
Hundreds of brave Mexican soldiers met their end in these places as well, defending their country back in 1846. Their brave story also needs to be told. Someday, there will be a modern two story museum at this spot so visitors can easily observe Casa Mata, (and downtown Matamoros), just across the river, from a roof top observation deck.
It is remarkably close, even for a nineteenth century cannon. Its close proximity dramatically illustrates just how desperate Major Brown and his troops must have felt, as they ran low on ammo.
Our present museums are doing a fantastic job. But their task is overwhelming, and their resources limited. They could use some help from our many industrial developers. The National Park Service would no doubt be interested in helping to complete the telling of their Palo Alto battlefield story.
The biggest financial help would be from the Pentagon, who maintains soldiers'graveyards around the world. Why not have a final resting place for US soldiers' bodies currently being excavated by Mexican anthropologists in downtown Monterrey ?
Our local history is both nationally and internationally significant and important. It needs to be told, and the world will come to listen and learn. There are hundreds of thousands of tourists here already in Hidalgo County. Lets work to bring more of them to Brownsville, create local jobs, and save Fort Brown and our past heroes of both countries, from obscurity in the high weeds.
Lets all work to, "SAVE FORT BROWN".
4 comments:
Fort Brown has been revived and preserved by UTB and TSC over the years. The Commander's house has been rebuilt, the Regimental house has been preserved, and other building which house academic and administrative activities have been preserved. When local bigots took up arms against the Buffalo Soldiers....the local cemetery was relocated to Fort Polk, LA. Unfortunately, most citizens of Brownsville are not interested in history and most residence have little history on this side of the border. Most don't know the history of Fort Brown and most don't care. While I support the ideas of this author, now is not the economic time to advance this idea.
I agree with Joe's letter!
We have a very historic city, yet the disorganization and in-fighting among our museums and non-profits hurts the ability of the city to project a unified program. We have too much infighting and a lack of cooperation to be successful. Everyone wants personal power and the city loses. We need a unfied effort to coooperate to benefit the city...
We need to get rid of all these so called CEO's that are making a lot of money and are worth less and find people that will promote Brownsville...All these people are running our Museums into the ground...need to make them all one and not a bunch of different CEO with childish way of working against each other. Also I read on facebook where the Ruenas family (owners of the Victoria Theater) gave a museum a sombrero belonging to Pedro Infant and took it back when a ugly fat employee put it on and posed for a picture posted on Facebook! No wonder no one will like to part with items if they are treated with disrespect!
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