Editing Brownsville, Texas (section)

=== Founding ===
[[File:Emory-Brownsville.jpg|thumb|left|Brownsville in 1857]]

In 1781, Spanish government officials granted José Salvador de la Garza 59 leagues of land (408 sq mi). He used the land to construct a ranch several miles northwest of the area. During the early 1800s, Brownsville was known to residents as ''los tejidos'' (English: "[[pasture]]lands").<ref name="brownsvillearchive">{{cite web |title=Brownsville from 1846... (1996) |url=https://www.texasarchive.org/library/index.php/Brownsville_from_1846... |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230110738/http://www.texasarchive.org/library/index.php/Brownsville_from_1846... |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 30, 2015 |website=Texas Archive |publisher=Brownsville Historical Association |access-date=January 2, 2019 |date=1996}}</ref> The area was inhabited by a few settlers around 1836 when Texas [[Texas Declaration of Independence|declared its independence]] from Mexico. On February 4, 1846, President [[James K. Polk]] instructed American General [[Zachary Taylor]] and his troops, including 2nd LT. Ulysses S. Grant, to begin moving south towards Brownsville. Once Taylor arrived, he built [[Forts of Texas#Mexican–American War|Fort Texas]]. It was later renamed [[Fort Brown]] in honor of Major Jacob Brown,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fbr87|title=Brown, Jacob|last=Cutrer|first=Thomas W.|date=June 12, 2010|website=tshaonline.org|access-date=July 4, 2019|archive-date=July 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702212818/https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fbr87|url-status=live}}</ref> one of two soldiers who died during the [[siege of Fort Texas]].<ref name="brownsvillearchive"/><ref name="siegeoftexas">{{cite news |title=Fort Texas / Fort Brown |url=https://www.nps.gov/paal/learn/historyculture/siegeofforttexas.htm |access-date=January 4, 2019 |work=United States Department of the Interior |publisher=National Park Service |archive-date=January 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103074927/https://www.nps.gov/paal/learn/historyculture/siegeofforttexas.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Charles Stillman]] arrived in Matamoros in 1828 from [[Connecticut]] to help his father in the mercantile business.<ref name="brownsvillearchive"/> Brownsville became part of Texas after the signing of the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] in 1848. During that year, Stillman formed a partnership with Samuel Belden<ref>{{cite news |last1=Long |first1=Gary |title=Belden Trail off and running |url=https://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/belden-trail-off-and-running/article_cb243d58-929a-11e2-8d23-001a4bcf6878.html |access-date=January 1, 2019 |work=[[The Brownsville Herald]] |date=March 21, 2013}}{{Dead link|date=June 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> and Simon Mussina to form the Brownsville Town Company.<ref name="watrousarchive">{{cite news |title=The Texas Land Frauds.; Branch of the Watrous Impeachment Case. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1860/08/18/archives/the-texas-land-frauds-branch-of-the-watrous-impeachment-case.html |access-date=January 1, 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 18, 1860 |archive-date=January 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103012011/https://www.nytimes.com/1860/08/18/archives/the-texas-land-frauds-branch-of-the-watrous-impeachment-case.html |url-status=live}}</ref> They reportedly sold lots valued at $1,500. The city of Brownsville was originally established in late 1848 by Stillman, and was made the county seat of Cameron County on January 13, 1849. The state originally incorporated the city on January 24, 1850. This was repealed on April 1, 1852, because of a land-ownership dispute between Stillman and its former owners (including [[Juan Cortina]], a Mexican rancher). The state reincorporated the city on February 7, 1853; this remains in effect. The issue of ownership was not decided until 1879, when the [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]] ruled in favor of Stillman.<ref name="watrousarchive"/>