Annexation: Celebrating 150 years of Texas Statehood

Brownsville-The Brownsville Heritage Complex, located in historic downtown Brownsville, invites the public to view Annexation: Celebrating 150 Years of Texas Statehood, a Humanities Texas exhibition. The exhibit opens on April 10, 2006. The exhibition at the Brownsville Heritage Complex is made possible through the support of the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation.

Texans enjoy a special status because their state was once an independent republic, a nation among nations. This fame, however, was more or less thrust upon Texas by political issues that occupied the United States, Mexico, and various European nations for almost a full decade following the Texas revolution. It was not until 1845 that U.S. support for the doctrine of “manifest destiny” brought about the annexation that an overwhelming majority of Texans had so fervently desired.

This fascinating story has been told through an exhibition of original documents and artifacts organized by the Capitol Complex Visitors Center in Austin; and it is now retold for all Texans to view in a traveling photo-panel exhibit organized and circulated by the Humanities Texas.

Annexation: Celebrating 150 Years of Texas Statehood is designed for humanities projects that focus not merely on Texas history but on the mythic power of events that help define a community, state, or nation and on the ways in which people learn history. The photo-and-text panel exhibit was produced by THRC with support from the Humanities Texas.

The exhibit will be on view until April 29, 2006. The exhibit is included with the cost of general admission to the Brownsville Heritage Museum. General admission is always free for Brownsville Historical Association members.

The Brownsville Heritage Complex is managed by the Brownsville Historical Association. The Heritage Complex is located at 1325 E. Washington in Brownsville. The Brownsville Heritage Complex includes The Stillman House Museum, The Brownsville Heritage Museum, The Aiken Education Center, and the Heritage Resource Center.

For more information please call 956-541-5560 or visitwww.brownsvillehistory.org.