Cameron County, Texas

Cameron County Education, Geography, and History

Cameron County is the southernmost county in the state of Texas. Based on the 2010 census, its population was 406,220. Its county seat is Brownsville. The county was founded in 1848 and is named for Captain Ewen Cameron, a soldier during the Texas Revolution and in the ill-fated Mier Expedition.

Cameron County is part of the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Brownsville-Harlingen-Raymondville, TX Combined Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Cameron County Name

The county was named for Ewen Cameron, (1811?-1843). On July 7, 1842, Cameron took part in the engagement at Lipantitlán against Gen. Antonio Canales. Samuel H. Walker attributed much of the credit for the successful defense of the position to Cameron. At the battle of Mier, "The fearless Cameron, whose company garrisoned the back yard of one of the houses, being charged by an imposing force of the enemy, after emptying his rifles into their lines, beat off the foe until he could reload, with the loose stones in the court." At Pass Suarte, after Fisher and the staff officers had been separated from the command, the Mier prisoners unanimously chose Cameron as their commander. On Saturday, February 19, Cameron and about sixty men were recaptured by Mexicans and subjected with other groups to the Black Bean Episode. Cameron drew a white bean in the lottery, but was shot for a later attempt at escape.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Cameron County History

Cameron County was created on February 12, 1848 and formed from Nueces County. Cameron County was named for Ewen Cameron, a soldier during the Texas Revolution who was named for Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel. The County Seat is Brownsville.

Handbook of Texas Online
On February 12, 1848, the Texas legislature decreed the existence of Cameron County, and with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo on July 4 the area officially became part of the United States. The new county encompassed 3,308 square miles, including parts of the future Hidalgo, Willacy, Kenedy, and Brooks counties. An election of county officers was held on August 7, but organization was not completed until September 11. Santa Rita, five miles downstream from Fort Brown and believed to be the earliest English-speaking town in the area, was made the county seat. The same year Charles Stillman established Brownsville just west of Fort Brown. In December another election was held, and after intense effort on Stillman's part Brownsville was chosen county seat. More at
Alicia A. Garza and Christopher Long, "CAMERON COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcc04), accessed January 23, 2016. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,276 square miles (3,306 km²), of which, 906 square miles (2,346 km²) of it is land and 371 square miles (960 km²) of it (29.03%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Willacy County, Texas (north)
• Hidalgo County, Texas (west)
• Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico (south)
• To the east, the county borders the Gulf of Mexico.

Education

Cameron County is served by several school districts. They include:

Brownsville Independent School District
Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District
La Feria Independent School District
Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District
Lyford Consolidated Independent School District (partially)
Point Isabel Independent School District
Rio Hondo Independent School District
San Benito Consolidated Independent School District
Santa Maria Independent School District
Santa Rosa Independent School District

In addition, residents are eligible to apply to South Texas Independent School District's magnet schools.

Compare More Colleges and Universities

Find more schools to match to your needs.

Start Now