University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, the site of historic Fort Brown
Fort Brown circa 1914 (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History)
Encoded version of the Zimmerman Telegram (Library of Congress)
Troops arrive in Brownsville circa 1916 (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History)
US cavalry troops training at Fort Brown circa 1914 (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History)
Artillery training in the South Texas chaparral (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History)
American troops deploy armored motorcycles during patrols of the U.S./Mexico border (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History)
U.S. troops with an Agave cactus in Brownsville (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History)
Fort Brown has longed played an important role in protecting the border. Originally named Fort Texas, it was a strategic fort in the Mexican War of the mid-1800s and later in the Civil War.
In 1910, as the Mexican Revolution threatened to spill over the border into Texas, it was again garrisoned with troops. In 1917, the “Zimmerman Telegram” confirmed Texans’ worst fears of a conspiracy between Mexico and Germany against the United States.
Fort Brown’s remaining structures how house The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Contact the campus visitor center for more information and to schedule a tour of Fort Brown.
The Museum of South Texas History in nearby Edinburg features an exhibit about the Zimmerman Telegram - and how it changed the course of history.
Fort Brown - University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley
- 80 Fort Brown St., Brownsville, TX
- 956-882-7624
- Visit Website
- National Register of Historic Places
