Tijerina House
Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A descendant of the 18th Century Rio Grande settler Blas de la Garza Falcon, Tomas Tijerina (1860-1932) moved to this site in 1904. His original frame house was moved to the back of the lot in 1912 when the present brick home was built. Tijerina, a deputy sheriff for many years, designed the residence and his neighbor Teodoro Perez served as general carpenter. The exterior brick walls are supported by brick buttresses for protection from hurricane winds.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Tomás Tijerina, descended from an 18th-century Spanish settler of the Rio Grande, moved to this Brownsville site in 1904 and built the present brick home in 1912. A longtime deputy sheriff, he designed the house himself while his neighbor Teodoro Perez handled the carpentry. Its brick buttresses were raised deliberately to brace the walls against the hurricanes that regularly menace the Gulf coast.
Why it matters
The house embodies the deep Tejano roots of the lower Rio Grande Valley, where families traced continuous residence back through Spanish colonial times into the American era.
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Related people
- · Tomás Tijerina
- · Teodoro Perez
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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