Touring The Museum of South Texas in Edinburg, Texas

Marilyn, Eric, Bill & I

visit The Museum of

South Texas in

Edinburg.

Eric makes friends

with a Texas

Longhorn Steer.

The stairway & second

floor balcony are

beautiful.

I love the tiled risers

between the stair treads.

The coast & southern

region of Texas was

under water over

200 million years ago.

The skeleton of a Pliosaurus

welcomes visitors to the

beginning of the South

Texas History Galleries.

Nomadic Coahuiltecans lived in South Texas when Spanish explorers came to the region.

Captain Alonzo Alvarez

Pinedo commanded the

first three ships that

explored the Gulf Coast

in 1519.

Spanish Conquistadors

headed inland looking

for gold.

Conquistador Eric checks

for rain.

Early settlers lived in 

small, simple homes.

Baking was done

outdoors.

Mexico sent its Army into

the area to put down the

Texas Revolution

1835 - 1836.

Texans won the Revolution established the Republic of Texas.   Mexicans became Americans when the Treaties of Velasco were signed.  After nine years as an independent country, Texas became the 28th state on December 29, 1845.  

Businesses and land owners discriminated against Mexicans and Mexican-Americans (Tejanos).  The practice was codified in state and local laws.  Slaves working on Plantations in Texas escaped and headed south to Mexico, where slavery was illegal.

With only wagon trails to access the region, South Texas was isolated from the rest of the state and the country.

Farm tools were very basic

in the 1800s.

The Multi-Purpose Wooden Trough

 was used to mix Tamale Meal,

 mix Sausage & to wash clothes... 

 Maybe bathing children too.

By 1860, River Boats

were becoming a

common sight on the

Rio Grande River.

With increased travel into and out of the area, markets grew for fruits and vegetables grown in South Texas.

Cotton was King in

the 1860s.

Texas seceded from the Union on February 1, 1861.  The Union Navy blockaded coastal ports. The last battle of the Civil War was fought on May 11, 1865 at the Palmetto Ranch, near Boca Chica.

Cattle became King

after the Civil War.

Brands were invented to

identify cattle grazing

on the open range.

The Chuck Wagon was stocked

with food for Vaqueros who

moved herds of cattle to

market.

I look at the Chuck Wagon and see the the beginnings of the RV Industry.

We walk down the staircase to

Galleries on the first floor.

The railroad came to South

Texas in the very early

1900s.

Oil Wells sprang up

across South Texas

in the early 1900s.

This Rotary Drill Bit was

used to drill through dirt

& rock to oil reservoirs.

Cars came to South Texas

in 1910.

Gas Stations & roads

became necessities.

Challenges were met with business acumen and hard work.  Access to South Texas was growing.

The Mexican Revolution spread

violence into the border region.

In 1915 Mexicans started

raiding South Texas.

Farms, ranches & stores

were frequent targets.

Appeals for help went out to the Texas Government in Austin and to the Federal Government.  General Pershing and the Infantry were sent to the border area to quell the violence in 1916.  Texas Rangers moved into the region and slaughtered Mexican-Americans by the hundreds citing the need for Law and Order. The Mexican Government worked south of the border to stop the gangs of raiders.  The violence stopped in 1917.

Prohibition (1919-1933)

was a lawless time with

liquor being smuggled

north from Mexico to

thirsty Texans.

Northerners came to 

South Texas in the 1920s

to get away from harsh

winters, open businesses,

& farm in this region.

Starting in the 1920s, immigration north from Mexico was seen as a problem. The US Border Patrol was created in 1924 to oversee the border and stop people crossing north from Mexico.

Commercial flights into South Texas started in 1929 with the opening of the Brownsville Airport, further opening up the area to business opportunities and entrepreneurship.

Texas struggled through the

 Great Depression.

With nearly 25% of the population out of work, President Roosevelt's New Deal programs were welcomed.  Still, many continued to eke out a living while waiting for the economy to turn around.

Anglo & Tejano Texans 

served in Europe & the

Pacific during World

War II.

Following the War, South Texas remained pretty much the same.  Mexican-Americans were discriminated against in business, housing and in the courts.  In 1954 a discrimination case went to the Supreme Court.  The results of Hernandez v Texas: The Fourteenth Amendment which states that all persons born in the United States are American citizens and citizens of the states in which they live.  The government can not deny due process to blacks, whites or a person of a defined a member of a class, such as Mexican-Americans.

Cities in South Texas

gradually grew through

the 1950s, '60s...

Civil Rights Laws passed in the 1960s benefited Mexican-Americans.

... & '70s.

NAFTA created an economic boom in South Texas and the population of the area expanded through the 1990s.  The region nervously waits to see what the current administration will do with this treaty.  Will changes to NAFTA help or hurt the South Texas economy?

This region relies on tourism and welcomes Winter Texans from across the US and Canada each year.  

Marilyn, Bill, Eric and I agreed that The Museum of South Texas provides a lot of historical information about this region.  We highly recommend a visit to tourists.