Fourteen New Historical Trail Signs Erected in Brownsville

This Civil War Trail sign is on West University Drive, shown heading east. Sabal Hall is faintly visible beyond the trees.


Fourteen new historical highway and street signs marking the Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail have been erected throughout Brownsville, including several on the campuses of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Texas Southmost College.
 
The UTRGV Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools (CHAPS) spearheaded these Cameron County trail signs with a grant funded by Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation.
 
“The National Park Service was the first to sponsor one of these signs, which was erected on Highway 4 in front of the entrance to Palmito Ranch Battlefield,” said Dr. Russell Skowronek, CHAPS Program founding director. “We have hopes that other municipalities would follow suit. When we discovered that the BCIC would sponsor such a project, we applied right away!” 
 
UTRGV’s CHAPS Program designed, developed and launched the Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail in February 2015 in an effort to permanently mark the sesquicentennial observation of the last land battle of the American Civil War, which took place at Palmito Ranch Battlefield in Brownsville.
 
After a successful project debut, the CHAPS Program has continued its efforts to provide regional educators with professional development training to teach Rio Grande Valley K-12 students about the area’s role in the Civil War.
 
For more information about CHAPS, contact Dr. Russell Skowronek at 956-665-3231 or russell.skowronek@utrgv.edu.