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Portal:Texas/Cities/19

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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 / 25.93028°N 97.48444°W / 25.93028; -97.48444 (25.930307, -97.484424)[1], 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.

  1. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.