The Old Brulay Plantation was a Southern plantation with a historic mansion founded in c. 1870 and located in Brownsville, Texas. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since October 10, 1975.[2]
History
The Old Brulay Plantation was established circa 1870, by George Paul Brulay (1839–1905).[3][4] George Paul Brulay had immigrated from France to Matamoros, Mexico and then to Brownsville, Texas.[3] He bought up 400 acres of land located near the Rio Grande, most of which at the time was full of brush plants.[4]
It was initially experimented with different crops on the land; first it was a cotton plantation, followed by a sugar plantation.[4][3] Brulay had built a sugar mill on the property circa 1876.[4][3] Because this plantation was established after the American Civil War of 1861–1865, the plantation did not own black slaves.[3]
When tariffs on Cuban sugar were removed c. 1910, the plantation closed down.[3]
Brulay's sons worked the farm until it was sold in 1924.[4] It was acquired by immigrants from Japan prior to World War I.[3] The plantation was purchased by the Nye family in 1931.[3] By 2016, it still belonged to the same family.[3]
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Cameron County, Texas
- Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Cameron County
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Old Brulay Plantation". National Park Service. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "U.S. History Students Visit Brulay plantation On Field Trip". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, Texas. August 1, 1976. p. 31. Retrieved December 11, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e "George Brulay: Early Brownsville Farmer". Newspapers.com. The Brownsville Herald. July 30, 2017. p. C3. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
