Nov 4 ~ Happy Birthday Chuck!

Charles Stillman  (1810-1875) 

Charles Stillman, born 205 years ago on November 4, 1810, was the son of a Connecticut sea merchant who arrived in Matamoros in the 1820s witnessed and had to tolerate the War with Mexico, several political struggles of Mexico's unstable development and Civil War while trying to do business in a wild setting.  That he partnered with Richard King and Mifflin Kenedy to run a steamboat business on the river and shipped goods to and from New Orleans, New York and far off places like Liverpool, England is well known.  He also invested in silver mines in Mexico, and the sale of sheep, deer and beef hides.  He loved ranching life and wanted to eventually settle down at the King Ranch at Los Laureles.  Smuggling cotton was the only way to avoid paying outrageous costs of doing business and graft was what kept business moving.

He had lived here twenty years before establishing Brownsville.  In those twenty years he had adopted south Texas as his home; never intending to return to Connecticut.  He had brought his wife to live in the Stillman home and they had children but the harsh conditions and risk of disease such as cholera and Yellow Fever outbreaks were too much for his wife Elizabeth to stay so she returned to her home.  Charles would eventually retire and join them but not until 1866.

Stillman had business partners on both sides of the river and they all made money.  Spurious dealings with heirs who owned part of the Espiritu Santos land grant created a long-drawn out court battle which some critics today use to slander the Stillman legacy but the bottom line is that without Stillman and others like him, there may not have been a Brownsville, Texas.

Bronsbil Estacion recognizes Charles Stillman as the founder of this great city with all its interesting and sometimes unpleasant history.  Visit the Brownsville Heritage Museum and other museums to learn more about our local history and heritage.

Stillman House on E Washington St now a museum