The Starcks, The Rabbs, and a Plantation House
By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon
If Brownsville were split into boroughs like New York City, Southmost would definitely be one of them. Southmost is one of the oldest parts of Brownsville, and has recently gained notoriety for having some of Brownsville's best authentic home-style Mexican restaurants. Vera's Backyard Bar-B Que was recently featured on The Texas Bucket List. Brownsville residents regularly make their way to taquerias and eateries on Southmost.
When I was an elementary school student, I was bused to Morningside Elementary for school. Our school bus always drove down Southmost, and I clearly remember passing by a drive-in theater on the way to school. Eventually, the drive-in would be torn down and an H-E-B would eventually be built around the area where the drive-in was.
If you continue driving down Southmost past Morningside Road, Southmost begins twisting, turning, and curving. Eventually, you'll reach Sabal Palm Grove Road. When Sabal Palm Grove Road meets South Dakota Avenue, you'll run into a gate. Beyond the gate is a Queen Anne Style house.
The house is sometimes called La Casa de Colores. Some people claim it is haunted. If you visit the house at night and approach the gate, it is said ghosts can be seen walking around the house and staring out the windows.
The reality is a little less spooky.
The Casa de Colores is actually the Rabb Plantaion House. The two story house was built on the banks of the Rio Grande in the early 1890's (some reports say 1891 while others say 1892) by Frank Rabb. Rabb's mother-in-law, Maria Vicenta Vidal Starck, was Petra Vela de Vidal Kenedy and Mifflin Kenedy's daughter. The Kenedy's were one of South Texas' preeminent cattle ranching families.
The 6,000 square foot house was filled with luxurious Victorian-style furnishings and decorations, and was one of the fanciest houses in Brownsville, and the Rio Grande Valley.
Frank and Lillie Starck were determined to follow in their family's footsteps and build their own ranching empire, along with a sugar plantation. At its height, the plantation stretched 20,353 acres from the Rio Grande to the Arroyo Colorado.
In 1895, the Rio Grande River changed course which meant the Starck-Rabb plantation was no longer on the banks of the river. An oxbow lake (resaca) would be left behind where the river once flowed.
Rabb would eventually stock his land with thoroughbred horses and cattle. He would eventually be one of Brownsville's elite — his hard work would make him a wealthy man; and he would become involved in local politics. He was a staunch Democrat who traveled to Baltimore as a member of the Texas "Immortal Forty," a group of delegates who threw their support behind, and eventually helped secure, Woodrow Wilson's nomination for President of the United States.
Rabb would add more real estate to his vast holdings, purchasing a two-story ranch house at Santa Maria Ranch near the Cameron-Hidalgo County line. He was a beloved, well-liked, and respected member of the community. He died at his Rancho Laguna Seca home in Edinburg in September of 1932.
For years, Rabb tried to donate his palm grove to the United States for use as a National Park. Newspapers of the time touted Rabb's palm grove as the "greatest, most beautiful palm grove in the United States."
While the land wouldn't be set aside for use as a National Park, the land would eventually become a destination for dendrophiles and birdwatchers. 557 acres of the original plantation are now the Sabal Palm Sanctuary; a wildlife preserve and bird sanctuary that is open to the public.
The Gorgas Science Foundation, in conjunction with the Texas Historical Foundation and others spent approximately 200,000 dollars, and a year and a half, restoring and renovating the plantation house. It is used as the sanctuary's visitor's center.
The house has period-correct, Victorian-era furnishings and artifacts that originally belonged to Rabb and his family.
There are plenty of jewels hiding within Brownsville. The Rabb plantation house and the Sabal Palms Sanctuary are definitely worth a visit.
People always say there isn't anything to do in Brownsville. I'd argue they just don't know where to look.
If Brownsville were split into boroughs like New York City, Southmost would definitely be one of them. Southmost is one of the oldest parts of Brownsville, and has recently gained notoriety for having some of Brownsville's best authentic home-style Mexican restaurants. Vera's Backyard Bar-B Que was recently featured on The Texas Bucket List. Brownsville residents regularly make their way to taquerias and eateries on Southmost.
When I was an elementary school student, I was bused to Morningside Elementary for school. Our school bus always drove down Southmost, and I clearly remember passing by a drive-in theater on the way to school. Eventually, the drive-in would be torn down and an H-E-B would eventually be built around the area where the drive-in was.
If you continue driving down Southmost past Morningside Road, Southmost begins twisting, turning, and curving. Eventually, you'll reach Sabal Palm Grove Road. When Sabal Palm Grove Road meets South Dakota Avenue, you'll run into a gate. Beyond the gate is a Queen Anne Style house.
The house is sometimes called La Casa de Colores. Some people claim it is haunted. If you visit the house at night and approach the gate, it is said ghosts can be seen walking around the house and staring out the windows.
 |
| Ca. 1927, Photograph from Brownsville Station and Jose Casares |
The reality is a little less spooky.
The Casa de Colores is actually the Rabb Plantaion House. The two story house was built on the banks of the Rio Grande in the early 1890's (some reports say 1891 while others say 1892) by Frank Rabb. Rabb's mother-in-law, Maria Vicenta Vidal Starck, was Petra Vela de Vidal Kenedy and Mifflin Kenedy's daughter. The Kenedy's were one of South Texas' preeminent cattle ranching families.
The 6,000 square foot house was filled with luxurious Victorian-style furnishings and decorations, and was one of the fanciest houses in Brownsville, and the Rio Grande Valley.
Frank and Lillie Starck were determined to follow in their family's footsteps and build their own ranching empire, along with a sugar plantation. At its height, the plantation stretched 20,353 acres from the Rio Grande to the Arroyo Colorado.
In 1895, the Rio Grande River changed course which meant the Starck-Rabb plantation was no longer on the banks of the river. An oxbow lake (resaca) would be left behind where the river once flowed.
Rabb would eventually stock his land with thoroughbred horses and cattle. He would eventually be one of Brownsville's elite — his hard work would make him a wealthy man; and he would become involved in local politics. He was a staunch Democrat who traveled to Baltimore as a member of the Texas "Immortal Forty," a group of delegates who threw their support behind, and eventually helped secure, Woodrow Wilson's nomination for President of the United States.
Rabb would add more real estate to his vast holdings, purchasing a two-story ranch house at Santa Maria Ranch near the Cameron-Hidalgo County line. He was a beloved, well-liked, and respected member of the community. He died at his Rancho Laguna Seca home in Edinburg in September of 1932.
For years, Rabb tried to donate his palm grove to the United States for use as a National Park. Newspapers of the time touted Rabb's palm grove as the "greatest, most beautiful palm grove in the United States."
While the land wouldn't be set aside for use as a National Park, the land would eventually become a destination for dendrophiles and birdwatchers. 557 acres of the original plantation are now the Sabal Palm Sanctuary; a wildlife preserve and bird sanctuary that is open to the public.
The Gorgas Science Foundation, in conjunction with the Texas Historical Foundation and others spent approximately 200,000 dollars, and a year and a half, restoring and renovating the plantation house. It is used as the sanctuary's visitor's center.
The house has period-correct, Victorian-era furnishings and artifacts that originally belonged to Rabb and his family.
There are plenty of jewels hiding within Brownsville. The Rabb plantation house and the Sabal Palms Sanctuary are definitely worth a visit.
People always say there isn't anything to do in Brownsville. I'd argue they just don't know where to look.
Comments
Post a Comment