Friday, March 11, 2016

CHUCK'S LOVE SHACK: THE SAME CRIB AFTER $100,000s?























By Juan Montoya
The so-called "Laureles Ranch House" that allegedly belonged to the  Brownsville founder – some say robber baron – Charles Stillman, is a piece of history.
(That's what arrived in Brownsville on top, and what a few $100,000s transformed it into today. We'd bet that the house never existed in the condition depicted in the lower graphic.)

The local newspaper ran a laudatory article when a mover hauled in the wooden structure that local historians say dates back to 1840-1850 when Stillman was bankrolling Richard King as he set about to amass the largest ranch in South Texas and plunder the local Mexican-American population of their properties.
(The late Yolanda Gonzalez, the curator of the John Hunter Room at Texas Southmost College asserted that some of the land-grant descendants turned over their properties to King with an "X" when they were known to have been educated and could read and write. She said many were kept in bondage on the ranch until they passed away and were buried there.)
This was prior to the booming 1860s when, during the U.S. Civil War, King and Stillman, Mifflin Kenedy and Francisco Yturria cornered the market on smuggled Confederate cotton and shipped it out of Matamoros' Puerto Bagdad and made out like  thieves.
Yet, there was no loyalty to country here.
These gents bought the cotton from the South, sold it to the mills in England and to the Union as well so that they could make uniforms for the soldiers who were fighting each other over slavery.
The ranch home was allegedly built for Stillman by King Ranch shipwrights. King eventually became a steamboat magnate. He and Stillman got rich in the steamboat business with Kenedy, founder of another big spread, the Kenedy Ranch
Even though Brownsville resident Alexander Stillman, a direct descent of Charles Stillman, and other members of the Stillman family, are reluctant to admit that Charles may have used the Laureles Ranch crib as a love nest for those long lonely days when he yearned for the warm embraces of his wife Elizabeth, far away in the cold north, there are many sly tongues that have alleged that Charles succumbed to that usual downfall of the gringos who take a hankering for the local "signoritas."
There are even looser tongues in northern Mexico that say a branch of the Don Carlos genealogy took root there.
Even though the formal Stillman brick house is located at the corner of 13th and East Washington streets, when the old "new" house arrived here it was a mite rustic.
For years, it languished in the Laureles Ranch, an old Spanish land grant 22 miles south of Corpus Christi. Then, when the owners decided they had enough of the shack that was an eyesore compared to the other houses on the spread, it was moved off the ranch several years ago and placed under the stewardship of the Corpus Christi Heritage Society.
Larry Loff, president of the Gorgas Science Foundation, UTB professor emeritus and an ardent historic preservationist, took it upon himself to renovate the house.
At the time, Loff, a master of the understatement, said the crib could use a little sprucing up.
“It’s not a townhouse, so it needs a little space around it even it if it’s in town,” he said. “We have a lot of buildings that are close to each other and close to the street. This one needs more space.”
The house, he told the local daily, is "typical of old South Texas ranch dwellings, built to accommodate people who spent most of their time outside, thus the wide, shady eaves and 10-foot-deep, wrap-around porch, for instance."
Loff said the renovators were lucky to have found the original plans for the house and sought to recreate it.
“It’ll be a really nice addition to Brownsville," Loff opined. "The fun part of it will be finally getting a chance to start working on it and restoring it, and of course when it’s finally open.”
The BHA signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (See graphic. Click to enlarge.) with the City of Brownsville making itself responsible for $25,000 the maintenance and operations aside from the original $65,000 for its relocation to Brownsville. Additionally, the BHA promised to open the house to the public once it's completed.
Some people close to the Stillman descendants say that the family footed the bill for the renovation but are shy about providing documentation for the costs. Whatever the case, we're willing to wager that Chuck's Love Shack has never looked so good and inviting.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like it. It is a wonderful addition to the historic building of Brownsville. Kudos to the Stillmans, BHA and the City of Brownsville, for making it available to us.

All the La Raza types can feast on sour grapes if they like.

Diego lee rot said...

Looks like a great house to party in!

KBRO said...

I hope the Neale descendants will foot the bill to save and restore the Neale house someday but we know that will never happen. I hope you come around to see it once it's done.

Anonymous said...

While the city of Brownsville fails to support the maintenance of other city owned buildings that house museums, it spends money (likely more than $100,000) this "new" building which is far more of a facility than it ever was. So, now what is it going to be used for....will Tony Martinez offer it up to Julieta Garcia for her new domain. Will it be a museum and who will pay for its maintenance, staffing and operations??

What are "La Raza types" anyway?????

Anonymous said...

Original artifacts included in this restoration:
1 nail
1 plank
1 stained mattress

Anonymous said...

Bloggers, write about immigration! To me, illegal immigration is not the problem. Plus, we have so much empty land in the US it's beyond one's imagination. If all illegal immigrants from the past 15 years moved to New Mexico, or to Texas, or to Wyoming it would have zero effect on 99% of America.

Anonymous said...

What an ugly place, next to the museum?

Anonymous said...

There was a great wine and cheese tasting event at the Laureles ranch house last night sponsored by BHA. Great food and great Bluegrass music. Most of the local worthies and politios were there and they seemed not to be bothered by the "Chuck's Love Shack" bullshit.

Your tired and outdated La Raza campaign of outrage again early Brownsville history is not shared by the population of today. Your wrinkled ass is stuck in the 60's. Time to move on vato! Write about something somebody cares about.

Anonymous said...

160 year old gossip is pretty stale and those "sly tongues" have long sense rotted in their graves. But, let's for a moment assume there to be some gain of truth mixed up in all that slander.

I can't understand why you hold Stillman to standards that are higher than the norm for the day or even today for that matter.

In Mexican society on both sides of the river, anybody with the resources has one or two "Movidas" and a sprinkling of bastard children. Those without the resources still do it, but far less class. Remove every Mexican from this earth who has fucked the help or indulged in a stray piece of ass at every opportunity and there would be nobody down here.

So give Stillman a break. He just went native down here.

Proud Liberal said...

>>>>>To: ANONYMOUS said...March 11, 2016 @ 2:51 PM.....

Well Bless your little heart!

Translation #1
and
Translation #2

Anonymous said...

Wish there was a whataburger here instead. now that would be historic

Anonymous said...

Sour grapes? Can you make tacos with those? No mames, buey.

KBRO said...

Juan stop being such a Grinch and come down to Whoville and sing Christmas songs with us coconuts.

Anonymous said...

assuuuuupinccccheeeeemadddrreeee

Anonymous said...

Get the B52s on this one
"The Love Shack is a creepy old place where Ramiro spent some....
"Love Shack, baby, Love Shack!"

rita