Cameron County was created on February 12, 1848
and formed from Nueces County. Cameron County was named for Ewen Cameron, a soldier during the Texas Revolution who was named for Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel. The County Seat is Brownsville. The Official County website is located at http://www.co.cameron.tx.us/. See also Extended History for more historical details.
Areas adjacent to Cameron County are Willacy County, Texas (north), Hidalgo County, Texas (west), the Mexican state of Tamaulipas lies to the south. To the east, the county borders with the Gulf of Mexico.
The Cameron County courthouse was built in 1912 of brick and stone in Texas Renaissance style. It was designed by Atlee B. Ayres and built at a cost of $200,000. A story tells of the courthouse contractor leaving the construction of the building to “celebrate life.” The architect, Ayres, found the contractor in a bar and persuaded him to quit so he could hire somebody else to complete the job.
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.
Cameron County Clerk has Court Records from 1849, Land Records from 1848, Probate Records from 1848 , Marriage Records from 1848 and Birth/Death Records from 1903 is located at 964
East Harrison Street,
Brownsville, TX 78520;
(956) 544-0817 . The County Clerk's Office is the record keeper of the county. The county records include birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, brand registrations, DD214s (military discharges), land / real estate / property records, probate and civil filings.
Below is a list of online resources for Cameron County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Cameron County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Texas Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
Click Here to Search Texas Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Vital Records,1100 West 49th Street,
Austin, TX 78756, Please allow up to approximately 6-8 weeks for processing of all type of certificates when ordered through the mail. They have the following records:
Birth Certificates: Birth records maintained by Bureau of Vital Statistics, Dept. of Health since 1903 through the present. For births that occurred within the past 75 years, copies can be requested only by the immediate family of the person whose name is on the birth certificate.
Cost: The cost of a birth record is $22.00. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $22.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: 6-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Death Certificates: Death records maintained by Bureau of Vital Statistics, Dept. of Health since 1903 through the present.
For deaths that occurred in the past 25 years, copies can be requested only by immediate family members of the deceased.
Cost: The cost of a certified death certificate is $20.00 for the first copy and $3.00 for each additional copy issued at the same time for the same certificate. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $20.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: 6-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Marriage & Divorce Certificates: Marriage Verifications from Jan 1966 and Divorce Verifications from Jan 1968. Certified copies of marriage licenses or divorce decrees are only available from the county clerk (marriage) or district clerk (divorce) in the county or district in which the event occurred. Marriage verification or divorce verification letters can now be ordered ELECTRONICALLY
Cost: $20 - Fee is for verification only.
Processing Time: 6-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
Order In Person: The certificates may be ordered by coming into this office. If you want the copy the same day, our hours for same day service are 8:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. Monday – Friday. The Texas Vital Statistics Office in Austin is located at 1100 W. 49th Street,
Austin, TX 78756.
Order By Mail: Mail a check or money order (no cash) payable to the "Texas Vital Records " along with the necessary information to the following address: Texas Vital Records, Department of State Health Services, PO Box 12040,
Austin TX 78711-2040. Please include return address on envelope and application form.
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical Texas newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-10, 1926-29 - Browse by county, then year, then surname, beginning with the first letters of the last name of the person you seek. If you're unsure of the year or location, use the search box under the browse menu. These records can be searched by father's first and last names, mother's first and maiden names, year, county, and city. The certificates include the child and parents' full names, residence, occupations, age, time and date of the birth, and the name of the physician attending the birth.
Texas Death Certificates, 1890-1976 - These records are searchable by first and last name of the deceased, year, county, and city. A certificate may include the decedent's date, place, and cause of death; age; date of birth; last residence; and marital status. If known, it will also include occupation, birth place, parents' names, and place of burial. Browse by county, then year, then surname, beginning with the first letters of the last name of the person you seek. If unsure of the year or location, use the search box under the browse menu.
Click Here to Search Texas Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Cameron County, Texas are 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. The Texas State Library holds microfilm editions for all of Texas' federal censuses. Although the 1850, 1860, and part of the 1870 mortality schedules have been published, all the original mortality schedules are at the Texas State Library and on microfilm The 1830 territorial census of Miller County, Arkansas, enumerates an area that is in today's Texas boundaries. The remaining 1890 population schedules which exist for Texas include: Ellis County (Justice Precinct 6, Mountain Peak, and Ovilla Precinct); Hood County (Precinct 5); Rusk County (No. 6 and Justice Precinct No. 7); Trinity County (town of Trinity and Justice Precinct 2); and Kaufman County (Kaufman). Although Greer County in present-day Oklahoma functioned as part of Texas between 1886 and 1896, the 1890 census for this county was enumerated under Oklahoma Territory.
Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in Cameron County, Texas are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms and U.K. Census Extraction Forms
Below is a list of online resources for Cameron County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Cameron County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Arkansas and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Texas showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Texas showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps.
Below is a list of online resources for Cameron County Maps. Email us with websites containing Cameron County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Texas Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for Cameron County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Cameron County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Texas (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Texas tax records constitute one of the most complete sets of available records generated at the county level (by the Commissioners Court) because these documents are maintained by the state. These lists may only include approximately sixty percent of eligible males over the age of twenty-one. Persons exempted from taxes included native Americans, "idiots," "incompetents," and those exempted because of age. This final category of exemptions varied over time. Years without an older age exemption were 1840 and 1862-70. Between 1841-44 exemptions began at forty-five years; in 1845 and from 1850-61 the upward age was set at fifty years. In 1837, 1848, and 1849 the limit was established as fifty-five, and in 1846-7, and 1871 the upward limit was set at sixty years.
Texas Ad Valorem (poll, personal, and real property) tax records for 1836 through 1976 are available in microfilm at the Texas State Library from the date of respective county organization; these are arranged by county and date and are somewhat alphabetized within each division. Microfilm copies are housed in the Genealogy Section. Tax lists for the various counties from creation to 1901 may be borrowed through interlibrary loan. Tax records through 1901-1947 are readily accessible, but not on interlibrary loan. Those for 1948 through 1976 can be obtained upon request.
Below is a list of online resources for Cameron County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Cameron County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories
in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical
and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical
Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly,
quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies
should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are
usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived
materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be
more generalized and over look the smaller details that local
societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to
look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy
section and may have some resources that are not located at
archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums
in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years
gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All
these places are vitally important to the family genealogist
and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Cameron County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Cameron County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Ft. Brown Genealogical Society,
608 East Adams,
Brownsville 78520-6087
Tip O' Tex Genealogical Society,
410 '76 Drive,
Harlingen 78550
Texas State Library and Archives Commission, P.O. Box 12927, Austin, TX 78711-2927 Holdings under the auspices of the Texas State Library are divided. Most important for genealogical research are the Texas State Archives with its Local Records Department, the Records Management Division, and the Information Services Division, which includes a Genealogy Section and a Reference Department.
The Genealogy Section maintains vertical ties that contain notes, clippings, pamphlets, and correspondence on Texas families. These files may be accessed in person, by phone (512-463-5463, forty-five minute limit), or through correspondence.
Texas Historical Commision The Texas Historical Commission (THC) is the state agency for historic preservation. THC staff consults with citizens and organizations to preserve Texas' architectural, archeological and cultural landmarks. The agency is recognized nationally for its preservation programs.
Texas Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Texas Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
During Texas's colonization period Roman Catholics were the most numerous, but early citizens included those representing other religious faiths such as Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Christian or Disciples of Christ.
Many cemetery records have been collected and transcribed, including the largest of which is multi-volumes compilation by the DAR and two volumes for Peters Colonists and descendants. The DAR collection, also microfilmed, is available at the Texas State Library and through the FHL.
Some Texas county historical and genealogical societies have published local cemetery and/funeral home records. These are normally available for purchase through the respective society. Two references can help determine which cemeteries have been recorded: Kim Parsons', A Reference to Texas Cemetery Records (Humble, Tex.: by author, 1988), arranged by county; and Sharry Crofford-Gould's, Texas Cemetery Inscriptions: A Source Index (San Antonio, Tex.: Limited Editions, 1977).
Below is a list of online resources for Cameron County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Cameron County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Texas obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Texas newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Texas.
Click Here to Search Texas Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Cameron County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Cameron County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Texas Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
The area now called Cameron County has long been the site of human habitation. Artifacts dating to the Archaic Period suggest that the first inhabitants arrived more than 10,000 years ago. During historic times as many as seven linguistic groups, including Coahuiltecans and Karankawas, inhabited the lower Rio Grande valley. Seven groups of Coahuiltecans lived there. The Indians hunted a wide variety of animals, fished, and gathered berries, fruits, and roots, as well as mountain laurel and peyote for their narcotic effects. After the arrival of the Spanish in the seventeenth century, much of the native population succumbed to disease; those who survived eventually moved away or intermarried with the Europeans, and by the late eighteenth century they had been largely supplanted by the Lipan Apaches. During the nineteenth century the Comanches occasionally made forays into the area, but by the end of the early twentieth century virtually all trace of the Indians had disappeared.
The first Spanish explorers arrived in the seventeenth century. In August 1638 the governor of León sent a group under Jacinto García de Sepulveda to explore the area; they crossed the Rio Grande near Mier and marched down the north bank of the river as far as the site of present Brownsville. In 1687 Alonso De León, on his second journey to find the location of Fort St. Louis, crossed the Rio Grande and proceeded north, probably to Baffin Bay. Beginning in January 1747, Miguel de la Garza Falcón reconnoitered the north bank of the Rio Grande from the site of modern Eagle Pass to the mouth of the river, which he reached on March 3. He listed the numerous Indian groups in the area and described the land as unfit for settlement because of the inadequate fresh water supply. On February 27, 1747, José de Escandón built a raft to sound the Rio Grande north of present-day Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and crossed into what is now Cameron County. A royal inspection made in 1757 by José Tienda de Cuervo recommended that titles to the land in the area be given to the colonists. In 1765 the community of San Juan de los Esteros (present-day Matamoros) was established south of the Rio Grande. In 1781 Spanish authorities granted fifty-nine leagues of land lying on the north bank of the river (including all of the site of Brownsville) to José Salvador de la Garza, who established a ranch about sixteen miles northwest of the site. A number of other grants were made in the area before April 18, 1789, when Juan José Ballí was granted the San Salvador del Tule area.
Additional grants were made in Mexican period, but the region was still only sparsely populated at the time of the Texas Revolution. Before 1836 the area was part of the state of Tamaulipas, but after the signing of the treaties of Velasco it was claimed as part of Texas and included in San Patricio County. Mexico, however, also claimed the territory, and through the late 1830s and early 1840s Mexican rancheros ranged their herds across the much of the area. By 1840 there were isolated settlements throughout the region, especially along the Rio Grande. The area on the north bank of the river immediately across from Matamoros-the future site of Brownsville-was used by the city as a common pasture, or ejido.
In early 1846 United States troops under the command of Gen. Zachary Taylor marched into the disputed territory between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande and constructed a defensive position across from Matamoros. The temporary fort was originally called Fort Texas but was renamed Fort Brown a short time later, in honor of Maj. Jacob Brown, who died during a Mexican attack on the stronghold. On April 25, 1846, a skirmish occurred between United States and Mexican troops at Las Rucias (Las Rusias), in southwest Cameron County, which became known as the spot where "American blood was shed on American soil," the verbal spark that ignited the Mexican War. Two other Mexican War battles were fought in Cameron County, the battle of Palo Alto (May 8, 1846) and the battle of Resaca de la Palma (May 9, 1846).
On February 12, 1848, the Texas legislature decreed the existence of Cameron County, and with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo on July 4 the area officially became part of the United States. The new county encompassed 3,308 square miles, including parts of the future Hidalgo, Willacy, Kenedy, and Brooks counties. An election of county officers was held on August 7, but organization was not completed until September 11. Santa Rita, five miles downstream from Fort Brown and believed to be the earliest English-speaking town in the area, was made the county seat. The same year Charles Stillman established Brownsville just west of Fort Brown. In December another election was held, and after intense effort on Stillman's part Brownsville was chosen county seat.
Much of the economy of the county in its earliest years was based on trade. Merchants on both sides of the border quickly recognized the advantage of shipping goods to Brownsville and then smuggling them across the Rio Grande to avoid paying high Mexican duties. During the Mexican War Richard King, Mifflin Kenedy,q and Stillman had set up a transport company to haul American troops and supplies up the river. After the war the three men managed to establish a virtual monopoly on river transportation, thus ensuring Anglo dominance of trade in the area and helping to encourage growth. In 1849 and 1850 California-bound gold-seekers came through the area, landing at Port Isabel and taking the military road to the west; some stayed and became settlers. Cholera and yellow fever epidemics struck the area on several occasions, but the population grew rapidly, and by 1850 Cameron County had 8,451 inhabitants.
The early history of the county was marked by a series of ongoing disputes about land titles, especially between the heirs of the original Spanish and Mexican grantees and more recent Anglo-American settlers. In 1852 a board of land commissioners examined the claims to land in the area and confirmed many Spanish and Mexican grants. In 1860 the legislature again authorized Spanish and Mexican grantees to establish their titles by court procedure. But in numerous instances land disputes continued to simmer, and court cases to decide who had legal title dragged on well into the second half of the nineteenth century. The activities of Juan N. Cortina were partly an expression of this rivalry.
By 1860 Brownsville was a thriving city; the Civil War made it the principal port for shipment of cotton and supplies to elude the Union blockade, and cotton caravans traversed the county from north to south on their way to Matamoros and Bagdad, Tamaulipas. Other caravans bore salt from El Sal del Rey in nearby Hidalgo County. Federal forces occupied the county in 1864, but it was later recaptured by the Confederates. The last land battle of the Civil War, the battle of Palmito Ranch, was fought near Brazos Santiago in May 1865.
After the war Fort Brown was rebuilt with brick buildings, and federal troops were once again stationed there. But the lack of a railroad and deepwater port hindered the county's economic recovery. Efforts had been made before the war to build a rail link between Brownsville and the coast. In 1850 and 1853 the Rio Grande Railway and Turn Pike Company and the Brownsville and Rio Grande Railway were planned for the county, but neither was constructed; the first railroad actually built in Cameron County was a military road constructed by Philip H. Sheridan connecting Brazos Santiago to White Ranch. In 1872 Simón Celaya funded and built a narrow-gauge line, the Rio Grande Valley Railway, between Brownsville and Port Isabel. The railroad served to break the Kenedy-King steamboat monopoly, but the lack of a rail connection to the North proved to be a serious impediment to trade. After 1880 the county's economy stagnated. A new railroad linking San Antonio with Laredo diverted much of the trade away, and the Morgan Lines quit making regular stops at Brazos Santiago. The population of Cameron County, which had more than doubled between 1860 and 1880 (growing from 6,028 to 14,959), declined slightly over the next decade, to 14,242.
During the latter half of the nineteenth century Cameron County's economy, as in former times, was based largely on ranching. Almost all the land in the county remained in ranches, mostly owned by a few wealthy landholders. Farming showed a marked increase in the period just after the Civil War but dropped off dramatically after 1880, in large part because of a lack of ready access to outside markets. The number of improved acres in the county grew from 4,354 to 116,989 between 1870 and 1880, but declined over the next decade to just over 31,000. During this period corn was the leading crop, with vegetables and other foods accounting for most of the rest of the harvest. Irrigation was introduced on a small scale during the 1880s, after George Paul Brulay built the first successful irrigation system in South Texas near Brownsville in 1876; but watered land remained a tiny fraction of the land under cultivation.
The population during the early post-Civil War era was nearly equally split between Anglos and Hispanics. Ethnic relations were generally harmonious: as in the rest of the lower Rio Grande valley, Cameron County leaders consisted of both Anglos and Mexicans, linked socially and economically through marriage and the social-religious custom of compadrazgo (compaternity or gossipred, the obligation assumed by godparents). Intermarriage was not practiced exclusively by the elite, but occurred at all levels of society. During the 1880s and 1890s, however, social and ethnic relations in the county began to change. Increasingly, Anglos began taking over the large ranches-usually by purchase or marriage but in some instances also by fraud-and displacing Mexican ranchers. Among the largest landowners were the King and Kenedy families, who owned over 300,000 acres each, and James G. Brown, who held 114,000 acres. By 1890 these large landowners controlled 97 percent of the county.
Political power also came to fall increasingly in the hands of the Anglo elite. James B. Wells, who arrived in the county during the 1870s, soon established a powerful political machine that extended throughout much of South Texas. Using his connections with the big ranchers of the region, who were able to deliver the votes of most of their Mexican-American employees and neighbors, Wells consolidated the Democratic party in the area and built up a secure coalition.
Matters began to change dramatically, however, after 1904, when the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway was built through the county. The introduction of the much-awaited rail line to the north opened the area for settlement of Midwestern farmers, who began arriving in the lower Valley in large numbers after the turn of the century. During the late teens and 1920s Cameron County underwent a new period of prosperity as the area experienced a prolonged land boom. Enterprising agents went to the Midwest and North hawking the cheap abundant land in and around Brownsville. Special trains were dispatched to bring prospective buyers to the area, and during the height of the boom in the early 1920s as many as 200 land-seekers a day were being brought into the town and its environs. The new settlers cleared the land of brush, built extensive irrigation systems and roads, and introduced large-scale truck farming. In 1904 H. G. Stillwell, Sr., planted the first commercial citrus orchard in the area, opening the way for what was to become one of the Valley's leading industries.
While the expansion of farming in the area and the railroad connection to the North brought newfound prosperity to the region, it also served to reshape its ethnic and social structure. Before 1900 nearly half of all those born in the area were the products of interracial marriages, and both Anglo and Mexican customs were widely practiced and respected. The county's new residents, however, mostly Protestant and white, were more reluctant to assimilate, and as a result ethnic divisions began to widen. After 1910 social relations came to be increasingly dominated by ethnic separatism. Many of the new arrivals saw their Mexican neighbors as "racial inferiors" ignorant of the American way of life, while Mexican Americans, the majority of whom worked as common laborers, became increasingly resentful of their situation. The animosities grew even worse during the Mexican Revolution, when border raids by Mexican bandits wrought havoc.
The decades after the turn of the century also saw a profound shift in the political structure of the county. Although Wells continued to maintain control during the first two decades of the twentieth century, he came under increasing pressure from the new Yankee residents, who resented his power and sought to clean up the political arena. Because of the changing demographics of the county and the rising tide of racial animosity between Anglos and Hispanics, Wells could no longer maintain his position, and his machine collapsed in 1920. In its place a new Anglo elite, made up mostly of recent arrivals, emerged, and a new social order, based on de facto segregation, became the rule. Segregated facilities-including churches, schools, and restaurants-were established for Hispanics and Anglos, and many of the former felt the sharp sting of discrimination. Their leaders, alarmed by the situation, met at the Harlingen Convention in August 1927 and eventually organized the Latin American Citizens League, a precursor to the League of United Latin American Citizens. But little changed until the 1960s.
The years from 1910 to 1930 also saw a rapid rise in population. Residents numbered just over 16,000 in 1900, 27,158 in 1910, and 77,540 in 1930. The growth was due not only to the influx of farmers from the Midwest, but also to a growing surge of immigrants from Mexico, who moved to the area in search of jobs and better lives. By 1930 the population was almost equally divided between Anglos and Hispanics; African Americans composed less than 2 percent of the population.
During the prohibition years Brownsville became a popular port of entry into Mexico for numerous tourists who wanted to have a few drinks in Matamoros. Smuggling, always an important underground industry, enjoyed a brief heyday as Brownsville became an important port of entry for illegal liquor. The area also saw a steady growth in the volume of legal trade, and after completion of the port of Brownsville in 1936, Brownsville emerged as one of the leading shipping points along the Texas coast.
The farming economy also saw marked growth. Between 1920 and 1930 the number of farms in Cameron County grew from 1,507 to 2,936, and by 1940 the farms numbered 3,243. Similarly, the total number of acres under cultivation rose, from 83,121 in 1920 to 101,376 in 1930 and 120,064 in 1940. The Great Depression of the 1930s briefly slowed the growth, but the region's economy was much less affected than that of many other areas of the state. The rise of agriculture in the county was fueled in large measure by the introduction of commercial-scale truck farming and the growth of cotton as a cash crop. Farmers discovered that the land and climate were ideally suited to growing vegetables and small fruits, and during the 1920s many abandoned such traditional crops as corn and sorghum to raise carrots, lettuce, onions, strawberries, melons and other such produce. The production of cotton, first grown in the area as early as the Civil War, also increased steadily after 1910, and by the 1920s it was among the area's leading cash crops (see AGRICULTURE and articles cross-referenced there).
During World War II Cameron County served as an important food production and shipping center, and in the 1940s the population increased rapidly, rising to 129,170 by 1950. The farming economy also expanded quickly in the early postwar years. Although the number of farms in the county began to decline after 1950 as the result of consolidations, farm output grew tremendously. In 1949 Cameron County farmers grew 214,536 bales of cotton, making the area one of the leading cotton-producing regions in the state. Production of other crops such as grapefruit, oranges, and sugarcane also increased impressively, and by the early 1960s Cameron County had established itself as one of the state's most productive agricultural areas.
In the early 1990s, more than 80 percent of county land was in farms and ranches, with 50 percent of the farmland under cultivation and 90 percent-more than 200,000 acres-irrigated. The county was among the state's largest producers of cotton and sorghum. Other leading crops included corn, sugarcane, hay, soybeans, onions, cabbage, cantaloupes, bell peppers, watermelons, cucumbers, carrots, honeydew melons, tomatoes, grapefruit, oranges, and pecans. Cattle and hogs were also raised in significant numbers.
Much of the county's nonfarm income came from processing fruits and vegetables, fishing, seafood processing, and light manufacturing. The county is also a producer of oil and natural gas. Gas-well gas production in 1982 totaled 2,424,550 thousand cubic feet; in addition, 4,670 thousand cubic feet of casinghead gas and a small amount of crude oil were also produced. Between 1944, when oil was first discovered in the county, and 1990, oil production totaled 434,000 barrels.
The earliest schools in Cameron County were private institutions founded before the Civil War. Among the first of these was the Rio Grande Female Institute, established by Melinda Rankin in 1852. Other early schools included Villa María, a girls' school founded on March 7, 1853, by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, and St. Joseph's Academy, a boys' school, established by brothers of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate on November 10, 1862. The first public school system was established in the mid-1850s, and by 1860 Cameron County had six public schools in operation. With the growth of population after the turn of the century the number of schools grew, increasing to fifty-nine by 1904. During the next two decades, however, many of the schools became segregated. Little money was spent on "Mexican schools," and as a result the quality of education offered to Hispanic children was generally inferior. As late as 1960 only 7 percent of the county's population had graduated from high school. The situation subsequently improved, and in the early 1990s the county had eleven school districts with sixty elementary schools, thirteen middle schools, eleven high schools, and three special-education schools. Private schools-predominantly Catholic-enrolled nearly 4,000 students in eleven elementary and five high schools. Texas Southmost College, the University of Texas-Pan American at Brownsville, and Texas State Technical Institute at Harlingen, as well as five vocational schools, offer postsecondary education. Nevertheless, despite efforts to improve the educational system, in the 1990s education levels in Cameron County remained fairly low, and many better-educated young people continued to leave the area.
Before the first American settlers arrived, the populace of the future Cameron County was almost exclusively Catholic. With the arrival of large numbers of English speakers from the Southern states after the Mexican War, several Protestant churches were founded, and by the eve of the Civil War most of the major Protestant denominations were represented. In 1990 Cameron County had 160 churches with an estimated combined membership of more than 150,000. The largest communions were Catholic, Baptist, and Methodist.
Cameron County has generally been staunchly Democratic. Democratic presidential candidates won virtually every race during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, except for the elections of 1848, 1896, 1952, 1956, 1972, and 1988. Democrats have also dominated local elections, and despite the collapse of the Wells machine in 1920 have continued to maintain a virtual stranglehold on local politics. Republicans, however, made strong gains after the 1970s, particularly in presidential and statewide races. Among the principal reasons for this trend is the influx of retirees from the Midwest.
Between 1960 and 1970 the population of Cameron County fell from 151,089 to 140,368, but it subsequently grew rapidly. In 1980 the residents numbered 209,727, and in 1990, 260,120. In 1990 the largest towns were Brownsville, Harlingen, San Benito, Port Isabel, and La Feria. The growth rate of 22.7 percent during the 1980s was partially attributed to retirees. The county ranked seventh in a 1987 list of the most desirable retirement areas in the United States. Winter Texans, or "snowbirds," often come for a few seasons and then stay permanently.
Cameron County ranks high among United States counties in the size of its Hispanic population. In 1990, 81.9 percent (212,995 of the total population of 260,120) of residents were of Hispanic decent; the actual percentage is probably higher than this census figure, since the census often misses migrant farmworkers, undocumented workers, and refugees. The civil-rights movement of the 1960s helped to desegregate most of the county, and a growing number of Mexican Americans subsequently attained positions of power. The last vestiges of segregation were removed with the closing of separate schools for migrant farmworkers' children in the 1970s. However, the later influx of refugees from Central and South America again increased tensions in the area. The refugee problem was especially acute in Harlingen, where in 1988 and early 1989 several hundred refugees were living in a condemned hotel building and on the streets. Many poor Hispanics, particularly new arrivals from Mexico and Central America, live in the county's numerous colonias, or shantytowns, a sizable number of them without electricity or running water.
Despite such problems, Cameron County remains a favored tourist destination. Each winter thousands of visitors arrive from the North, attracted by the mild climate and low cost of living, and during the spring and summer many more come to visit the beaches on Padre Island, which has seen intense development during the past two decades. Brownsville also serves as a major gateway to and from Mexico for tourists and shoppers. Major attractions in Cameron County include Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site, Resaca de la Palma Site State Park, Port Isabel Lighthouse State Historic Structure, Brazos Island State Scenic Park,q Immaculate Conception Cathedral, the Old Brulay Plantation, and the García Pasture. The county also offers hunting and fishing opportunities throughout the year. Special events include the Tourist Festival and Shuffleboard Tourney, the Winter Olympics, the Cameron County Livestock Show, Golden Gloves Boxing, Charro Days, the Winter Texan Fishing Tourney, the Valley Music Festival, the Tip O'Texas Wildcat Show, Little Bit of Mexico, the All-Valley Winter Texans Golden Tourney, Riofest, the Blessing of the Shrimp Fleet, the Texas International Fishing Tournament, Seafest, Fiesta Internacional, and the Welcome Home Winter Texans Party.
Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-10, 1926-29