Historic Brownsville cemeteries get national citationBy
A decade-long effort to inscribe the Historic City Cemetery and the Hebrew Cemetery as national historic sites comes to fruition this afternoon as the Brownsville Historical Association unveils plaques announcing their designation as such by the National Register of Historic Places.
“No other cemetery in the county, or in this region for that matter, is nationally recognized,” said Rhiannon Cizon, assistant director of the Brownsville Historical Association.
The unveiling ceremony begins at 2 p.m. at the Historic City Cemetery and then moves to the Hebrew Cemetery. A reception will follow. The plaques will be located by the entrances to the cemeteries.
“Many veterans from all the previous wars with the exception of the American Revolution (are) buried in the Historic City Cemetery,” Cizon said. “In the Hebrew Cemetery, there are ... people that helped shape Brownsville, and many of their families are still here today."
She said the Historic City Cemetery was established in 1851 and will mark its 160th anniversary next year. Architectural elements in the burial ground show Mexican, New Orleans and Anglo-American influences, making it different from cemeteries in other areas, she said.
The Hebrew Cemetery was the first Jewish burial ground in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Cizon said. In the late 1860s, it was purchased by the Hebrew Benevolent Society from Charles Stillman for $1.
Cizon said the process of applying to the National Register of Historic Places took about 10 years, with the effort spearheaded by local resident Eugene Fernandez.
“Eugene has always been interested in history and actually contacted BHA to see if he could make this happen,” Cizon said. “He’s ... just an ordinary citizen who did all the research on this project.”
Fernandez will among those participating in today’s ceremony. The Historic City Cemetery is located at 6th and Monroe streets, and the Hebrew Cemetery nearby at 2nd and East Madison streets.
Both cemeteries have already been labeled with Texas Historical Markers, but the national designation is new, Cizon said. Other local sites already inscribed by the National Register of Historic Places include Cameron County Courthouse and Fort Brown.
