For the ages: State recognizes historical preservation efforts in Brownsville

Brownsville is showing its age, but that’s a good thing as far as the Texas Historical Commission is concerned.

The commission chose Brownsville as the recipient of this year’s First Lady’s Texas Treasures Award, which is in its third year. The award presentation will take place from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday

The morning’s highlight will be the premiere of a THC-produced video spotlighting the city’s history and historic buildings. The presentation will also feature remarks from THC executive director Mark Wolfe and Brownsville city officials. Afterward, the public is invited to take part in a historical tour that includes the Townsite Historic District, unveiling of a permanent exhibit on Fort Brown, the Old City Cemetery, and a trip to the Sabal Palm Sanctuary and Rabb Plantation. (For a list, times, and directions, see below.)

Peter Goodman, director of the Historic Downtown District, said the Brownsville Historical Association, the Cameron County Historical Commission, the city of Brownsville, and UTB-TSC all deserve kudos for preserving the city’s historical assets, as do a number of individual philanthropists and volunteers.

The video to be screened at the award presentation will be valuable from a marketing perspective for the city, the university, the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce, Brownsville Economic Development Council and others, Goodman said.

"You’re going to watch it and you’re going to say, ‘I want to go there. Where is this place?’ When you have a great videographer who gets every building at the right time of day and knows how to put a story together, it really makes a difference," Goodman said. "We’re going to knock off as many copies as we can and give them out to anybody who wants them."

He hopes the Texas Treasures award and video, by highlighting Brownsville’s historical treasures, will attract more people — and younger people — to the cause of historic preservation.

"Heritage tourism is a big thing," Goodman said. "It’s a big dollar thing. It’s hard for a city like ours that doesn’t have a lot of expendable income to dump money into preservation. We rely on individuals and small organizations. The more folks we have interested and involved, the more we can do."

Wolfe, the THC director, said it’s important to spotlight preservation efforts in communities like Brownsville in part to help develop heritage tourism locally.

"Heritage tourists stay longer and spend more money than other kinds of tourists," he said. "They’re the kind of people you want to come to town."

Awards like Texas Treasures also serve a less tangible purpose in how they impact "community pride," Wolfe said.

"People take care of a community they care about," he said. "If you say, ‘Here’s a town that really knows what it’s doing,’ it bolsters community pride and people want to take even better care of it."

May 10 at the historic Alonso Building, 510 E. Saint Charles St., in downtown Brownsville.

May 10 First Lady’s Texas Treasures Award Events

— 10-11 a.m., award ceremony, Alonso Building, 510 E. St. Charles St.

— 11-11:45 a.m., Townsite Historic District Tour begins at Alonso Building

— 1-2-p.m.rownsville Heritage Museum and Market Square tour begins at 1325 E. Washington St.

— 1-2 p.m, Fort Brown exhibit unveiling, Oliveira Library, 80 Fort Brown St.

— 2:30-3:30 p.m., Palmito Ranch Battlefield commemoration, Boca Chica Boulevard east of Palmito Hill Road at Texas Historical Marker site

—4:30-5:30 p.m., Sabal Palm Sanctuary and Rabb Plantation House, Southmost Road (FM 1419), half mile west of F.M. 3068.

(See Brownsville points of interest map at www.brownsville.org)