About the Brownsville Historical Association
The Brownsville Historical Association (BHA) has served the community since 1947. Its mission is to preserve, educate, and promote the history, heritage, and cultural arts of Brownsville, Texas, and its environs through exhibitions, educational programs, publications, cultural events, and archival collections, with the broader aim of improving residents' quality of life and drawing visitors to historic downtown Brownsville. The BHA operates seven historic properties in the Mitte Cultural District and downtown: the Stillman House Museum, the Brownsville Heritage Museum, the Historic Brownsville Museum, the Costumes of the Americas Museum (1004 E. Sixth Street), the Laureles Ranch House Museum (1501 E. Seventh Street), the Historic Alonso Building (510 E. Saint Charles Street), and the Market Square Event Hall (625 E. 12th Street).
The Heritage Museum at 1325 E. Washington Street opened in 2002 and was reinterpreted with interactive displays in 2009; it houses the association's offices and gift shop and traces the city and region from exploration through the first half of the 20th century with photographs, maps, costumes, and artifacts on street life, education, transportation, and ranching. Next door, the Stillman House is among the oldest surviving structures in Brownsville and keeps its original windows, shutters, and doors despite later modifications by the Treviño family. The Historic Brownsville Museum at 641 E. Madison Street occupies the 1928 Southern Pacific Railroad depot, a Texas Historical Landmark listed on the National Register; its Simón Celaya Railroad Gallery is built around an 1872 Rio Grande Railroad locomotive, and the adjoining Mary A. Yturria Education Center hosts art exhibits.
The association's Market Square vaults hold one of the largest South Texas photograph collections in the Rio Grande Valley, along with fine art, historical costumes, furniture, sculpture, and documents, and the BHA mounts more than 20 temporary exhibitions a year. Programs include lectures, book signings, youth summer camps, concerts, hands-on workshops, historic walking tours ($10 for members, $15 for non-members), traveling exhibitions, teaching trunks, regional cooking and subtropical gardening workshops, free Second Saturday craft programs, Museum After Dark evenings, Genealogy Month activities, and partnerships with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. A Department 56 miniature holiday village of more than 500 ceramic pieces, donated by the Gloor family, is a seasonal favorite.
Collections and Research Services
Research in the archives is by advance arrangement only, so that staff can assemble collections and schedule curatorial time; requests go to collections@brownsvillehistory.org or by mail to 1325 E. Washington Street. The fee is a non-refundable $25 for the first hour and $15 for each additional hour, with a 20 percent discount for BHA members. Fees are waived for UTRGV and Texas Southmost College faculty, students, and qualified scholars, and for BISD staff and students and City of Brownsville employees conducting official research. Part of the collection can be browsed online through the association's PastPerfect Online digital collections, and artifact donations are accepted through a formal review process. If you are looking for images of a family home or block, start with our guide to finding old photos of a house or neighborhood, and see free family history research for Cameron County records to consult first.
Planning Your Visit
The Heritage Museum and Stillman House are at 1325 E. Washington Street, Brownsville, TX 78520. Museums are open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed Sunday and Monday; some locations are by appointment only. Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for seniors, $2 for students, and free for children under 6, BHA members, military, and BISD students and teachers, and a Day Pass covers the Historic Brownsville Museum, Heritage Museum, and Stillman House. Parking and accessibility details are not posted online, so call (956) 541-5560 (Heritage Museum) or (956) 548-1313 (Historic Brownsville Museum) before visiting, and check the events calendar at brownsvillehistory.org.
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