 | The area of Brownsville-Matamoros is explored in the seventeenth century. |
| Matamoros is established In 1774 (then known as San Juan de los Esteros). |
| Spanish authorities grant rancher José Salvador de la Garza fifty-nine leagues of land on the northern bank of the river in 1781. |
| Squatters from Matamoros construct huts on the north bank of the river in the early nineteenth century. |
| In 1826 Villa del Rufugio is renamed Villa de Matamoros. |
| General Zachary Taylor's troops build Fort Texas in early 1846 across the river from Matamoros (the fort is renamed Fort Brown in honor of Major Jacob Brown, killed in a Mexican attack). |
| The area of Brownsville becomes part of the state of Texas after the Mexican War and the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. |
| In 1848 Charles Stillman purchases a section of the Garza grant. |
| Stillman and Samuel Belden lay out a town that they called Brownsville and begin to sell lots in 1848. |
| Brownsville is made county seat of Cameron County in 1849, and a new post office opens. |
| At this time Brownsville's population grows with refugees from Matamoros and "Forty-niners" on their way to gold in California. |
| A cholera epidemic in 1849 reportedly kills nearly half of Brownsville's population. |
| Matamoros receives the letter "H" before its for "heroic" defense against the perpetrators of the Plan de la Loba. |
| In the 1850s Matamoros is replaced by Brownsville as the leading trade center for northern Mexico. |
| Brownsville's city market opens in 1850 |
| Brownsville's Sentinel begins publication in 1850. |
| Brownsville is incorporated in 1850, but because of a series of legal battles over the ownership of the land between the Stillman and Cavazo heirs, the title issue is not completely settled until a U.S. Supreme rules in favor of the Stillman group in 1879. |
| Juan Cortina rebels against the state of Texas in 1859. |
| The first Catholic church in Brownsville is founded by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1854. |
| The first school in Brownsville, Villa Marķa School for girls, is opened by in 1853. |
| In Brownsville Melinda Rankin establishes the Rio Grande Female Institute with Presbyterian support in 1854. |
| Brownsville's first public school is established in 1855. |
| Brownsville and Matamoros prosper during the Civil War as an open port for Southern cotton trade with Europe. |
| Matamoros is made a free trade zone in 1858. |
| In 1865 the Confederate and Union soldiers fight the last battle of the Civil at Palmito Ranch. |
| La Casamata located in Matamoros is inaugurated in 1865. |
| Also in the same year Matamoros's El Teatro Reforma is completed. |
| Matamoros is hit by a hurricane in 1867. |
| The narrow-gauge Rio Grande Railroad is constructed from Brownsville to Port Isabel in 1872. |
| The port of Bagdad is destroyed by a cyclone in 1889. |
| In 1892 the Cosmopolitan is purchased by Jesse O. Wheeler, and renamed the Brownsville Herald. |
| In 1904 the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway reaches Brownsville. |
| In 1904 H. G. Stillwell, Sr. plants the first commercial citrus orchard in 1904. |
| In 1908 construction of Brownsville owned electric-lighting system, waterworks, and sewerage system is begun. |
| A railroad bridge is constructed between Brownsville and Matamoros in 1910. |
| In 1910 the first international car bridge between Brownsville and Matamoros is completed. |
| Troops stationed at Fort Brown go on a rampage in the Brownsville Raid of 1906. |
| James B. Wells, Jr., attorney of Brownsville, Texas, and leading figure in South Texas Democratic politics losses control of Brownsville in 1910. |
| The 1920s see the height of the land boom in Brownsville. |
| The first airport is constructed in Brownsville in the 1920s. |
| During Prohibition in the 1930s Matamoros attracts tourists seeking a drink. |
| Illegal liquor is smuggled into Brownsville from Matamoros during Prohibition. |
| The Port of Brownsville is officially opened on May 15, 1936. |
| Fort Brown serves as training base for the 124th Cavalry during W.W.II. |
| Fort Brown is deactivated in 1945. |
| In 1949 the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is extended to Brownsville and the ship channel is expanded to accommodate larger vessels. |
| Brownsville becomes known for its shrimp industry, as well as cotton growing in the 1940s and 1950s. |
| Union Carbide begins construction of a plant near Brownsville in 1959. |
| Also in 1959 an immigration and customs building is constructed at the International Gateway Bridge. |
| Maquiladoras are initiated by the Mexican government in the 1960s. |
| The Industrial Development Council is formed in 1966 to encouraged new industries. |
| In 1967 the Border Industrialization Program was instituted by the Mexican government to attract Mexican businesses and laborers to the border area. |
| In 1989 the University of Texas System takes over Pan American University at Brownsville and it becomes the University of Texas-Pan American-Brownsville. |
| In September 1991 the University's name is changed to the University of Texas at Brownsville. |
| At same time the University begins a partnership with Texas Southmost College. |