Campo Santo Viejo

Planned as all of block 144 of the original townsite in 1848 and active by 1852, Campo Santo Viejo was the first official cemetery in Brownsville. The city abandoned the site in 1864, but burials continued into the 1870s. The property was redeveloped for residential and commercial uses, and in time, Campo Santo Viejo faded from memory, with no visible headstones or graves. Cameron County acquired portions of the site, and in 2004, human remains were discovered. Archeologists documented organized rows of interments in formal 19th century fashion, with dozens of undisturbed graves and evidence of moved burials. Now dedicated as a memorial park, this State Archeological Landmark remains a significant chronicle of Brownsville’s beginnings.

Campo Santo Viejo is a historical marker in Brownsville, Cameron County, dedicated in 2010. It is one of 116 historical markers documented in Cameron County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 194 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 25.9045, -97.4949 near Brownsville. The nearest cataloged historic site is 1912 Cameron County Courthouse (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Cameron County Courthouse (1912), Cameron County, and Cameron County Courthouse of 1883-1914.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507016755. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.