Portal:Texas/Cities/19

Brownsville is a city in Cameron County, Texas. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 139,722. It is the county seat of Cameron County. Brownsville is located at 25°55′49″N 97°29′4″W (25.930307, -97.484424), on the U.S.-Mexico border (marked here by the Rio Grande or Río Bravo del Norte) from Matamoros, Tamaulipas. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 215.0 km² (83.0 mi²), making it by far the largest city in the Rio Grande Valley.

Fort Texas was commissioned in 1845 less than a mile from what would become downtown Brownsville. Not even completed yet, the Mexican Army began the Siege of Fort Texas on May 3-9, 1846. One of the only two American soldiers who died in the attack was the fort's commander, Major Jacob Brown, in honor of whom the post was renamed to Fort Brown.