Special Collections & University Archives: Fort Brown Walking Tour

Discover the rich history that Fort Brown has to offer. Take a self-guided walking tour by downloading the brochure.

Historic Fort Brown is a landmark of Rio Grande Valley history. Wars have been fought there. At one time, the U.S. Calvary’s largest military hospital was housed on the grounds. During the years of a deadly Yellow Fever outbreak thousands of bodies were buried under what is now UTB-TSC campus, often multiple bodies in a single grave. A National Cemetery was once located on the Fort grounds. Some 3,800 bodies were removed in 1909 and relocated to a National Cemetery in Louisiana.

The site unofficially referred to as Fort Texas was an earthwork, in the rough shape of a six-sided star. Each earthen face of the fort extended from 125 to 150 yards. The walls were 9 feet high and 15 feet wide. A moat 20 feet wide and 8 feet deep circled the exterior. Inside, U.S. troops constructed a number of bomb-proofs and powder magazines to provide shelter from any incoming fire.

"Fort Brown, Texas, of which we give an illustration on page 185, is situated on the Rio Grande, about thirty miles in a straight line from the coast, and about seventy miles following the meandering of the river. It was laid out as a town in 1848—about the time of the evacuation of Matamoras, on the opposite side of the river. It has now a population of about four thousand, and a trade of about eight millions of dollars annually, principally with Mexico."

Letty Fernandez for Channel 5 News (2008). History of the Commandant's Quarters at Fort Brown and their restoration. Dr. Tony Knopp talks about famous generals such General McCook, Abner Doubleday, John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, and Charles Lindbergh.

This collection contains aerial photographs of Fort Brown throughout the decades.

This collection consists of maps pertaining to Fort Brown and its evolution from a military installation to a higher education institution.

The Fort Brown Quartermaster's Ledger consists of two-page reports that were originally bound in a single volume. The reports describe specifications for buildings on the Fort Brown military installation. This includes information about the floor plans, building dimensions, construction materials, mechanicals, appliances, and any changes or updates made to the building over time. There are 192 buildings covered within the ledger from Fort Brown, in Brownsville, Texas, and four from Boca Chica, in Brownsville, Texas.

This scrapbook contains photographs of scenes around Brownsville, San Benito, and Point Isabel. Photographs depict soldiers' daily living while in camp or in the march during the Mexican Border War. The photographs were taken during the summer and fall of 1916.