|
Building No. 2, as the Fort Brown Post inventory records call
it, was once near the present day Gateway International Bridge.
This building, built between 1882-84, has been used by U.S. Army
as a school/library, Post Chapel, Non-Commissioned Officer’s
Quarters, Officer’s Guests Quarters, Post Office and N.C.O.
Quarters, and lastly as the Chaplain’s Office in 1941.
It
was the first Home of the Brownsville Historical Association and
used as a museum from 1952-1960. Then they moved into the
historic Stillman House where they have expanded as the
Brownsville Heritage Complex. Visit the
BHA, to learn more about
Brownsville.
The General Services Administration (U.S. Customs) used it for
30 years thereafter as an office and maintenance building.
Bldg. 2 was dismantled and stored away for about a year until
1993 when it was rebuilt on the UTB/TSC campus near Gorgas
Hall. It is now called the “Regiment House” but that isn’t
really an appropriate name so we’ll refer to it as the Little
Chapel.
Why? Because the actual Regimental Chapel was a much
larger building that was also moved in 1947 to become the St.
Joseph parish until 1962. You can read all about these two
buildings in “Studies in Rio Grande Valley History” due in May
2005 to be
published by the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College. Look for the 35-page article in the book
entitled: “From Old to New: The Alteration, Restoration and
Preservation of Historical Fort Brown Buildings of UTB/TSC.”
See if you can find the Little
Chapel in these aerial photographs before it was moved in the
early 1990s. Remember, it is next to the bridge.
|
