Brownsville: Historic Brownsville Museum

Large stucco building with ornate trimmings around windows, doors, and a long roof

Historic Brownsville Museum

Horse-drawn carts full of produce being unloaded onto rail cars

Shipping vegetables by train. (Texas State Library and Archives)

Man wearing a high-crowned, narrow brimmed sombrero working in a corn field

Irrigated corn in the valley. (Texas State Library and Archives)

Train used for constructing new tracks

Railroad construction train. (Texas State Library and Archives)

Large field with people harvesting watermelons

Watermelon harvest. (Texas State Library and Archives)

Housed in a stunning 1928 building characteristic of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, the Historic Brownsville Museum has showcased exhibits on the city’s history since 1986. While the museum features little interpretive material on cattle drives or the Chisholm Trail, there are exhibits showcasing the establishment of railroads in South Texas – a development that would eventually revolutionize the beef industry but contribute to the decline of cattle droving.

Historic Brownsville Museum

  • Hours: Tuesday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
  • Admission: Adults: $2; Age 15 and under: 50¢
  • 641 E. Madison St., Brownsville, TX
  • 956-548-1313
  • Visit Website 
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