The Gem

The Gem was built about 1848 in downtown Brownsville, at the southernmost tip of Texas in the lower Rio Grande Valley. Its name is first mentioned in an 1851 description that refers to the building as the primary cafe in the community. Eligible under Criterion A in the area of Community Planning and Development, The Gem is associated with the earliest planned development of the community. The property is eligible under Criterion B in the area of Politics/Government, for its association with two locally prominent and influential leaders. Also eligible under Criterion C in the area of Architecture, The Gem is the most intact local example of typical mid-19th century Rio Grande Valley commercial architecture, exhibiting classically derived characteristics. The property is in excellent condition and retains its historic integrity.

Prior to its official organization, the Cameron County area had been under Mexican rule, part of the state of Tamaulipas. In the 14 May 1836 Treaty of Velasco the Republic of Texas claimed the area. Permanent Anglo-American settlement began about 1845 following statehood. The establishment of Fort Brown during the Mexican War on 26 March 1846, led to securing the Rio Grande as the southern boundary of Texas.

Brownsville grew up around Fort Brown and entrepreneur Charles Stillwell promoted the community's growth. Stillwell took advantage of available lands proximate to both Fort Brown and Matamoros, across the river. He entered a partnership, the Brownsville Township Company, with Jacob Mussina, a New Orleans produce broker and Samuel A. Belden. Stillman hired George Lyons to survey what became Brownsville's original town site. Lyons platted this valuable land during the summer of 1848. The Brownsville Township Company purchased most of the property surveyed, developed some of the lands, and sold the rest. The lots closest to the river and along East Elizabeth Street, one block north of The Gem, were the first to be sold and developed. Cameron County was officially organized and Brownsville became the county seat in December 1848.

According to deed records, Lyons' plat map recorded the dimensions of The Gem, providing evidence that the building was already standing by 1848. The Brownsville Township Company owned the land at that time and it is presumed that they built The Gem, one of the first brick commercial buildings constructed in Brownsville. J.E. Garey purchased a share in the property and used the ground floor as a storehouse for merchandise and the upper story as his residence.

An extant example of mid-19th century commercial architecture in the lower Rio Grande Valley, the architecture of The Gem is rich with Spanish, Mexican, and AngloAmerican cultural heritage. Very early Spanish colonial and Mexican provincial commercial buildings along the Rio Grande probably evolved from late 18th-century design, generally unadorned cubes constructed of adobe or jacal. This trend appears to have been set by the mid-19th century when commercial buildings in early settlement areas (San Ygnacio, NR 1973 and old Guerrero, Mexico) reflected the use of course-stone load-bearing walls, hand-hewn wood lintels, double doors, and shallow parapets concealing flat roofs drained by canals. With affluence came the addition of decorative details such as quoins, cornices, and occasionally, wood door molds. The preferred form was either an L-plan that would lend itself to enclose a private area, a 1-story rectangular plan, or a 2-story rectangular plan with a commercial enterprise on the first level and a residence on the second level. These plans were generally fenestrated with symmetrically placed double doors that opened to the street. The preferred location for a storehouse like The Gem was a prime, corner lot between the river (later the railroad) and the central plaza.

In more populated areas of the Valley like Brownsville, construction techniques still employed earlier building methods, but by the mid-19th century, procedures had evolved to using double-wythe brick load-bearing walls and machine-sawn wood doors and window surrounds. And, while a preference for corner locations and rectangular or Lplan forms continued, locally made brick began to replace wood and adobe construction. Using brick allowed designers to build 2-story structures and embellish their simple designs with corbelled brick cornices and pilasters based on pattern books. Other similar properties constructed at about the same time are the San Roman Building (RTHL 1966) and the Yturria Bank Building.

(Later in the century this style, distinctive to lower Rio Grande Valley commercial architecture, further developed. In Roma, northwest of Brownsville, bricks were used for classical entablatures with moldings and dentils over the openings. Examples of brick architecture in Roma are the Manuel Guerra House and Store (NR 1972) and commercial buildings in the Roma (Roma-Los Saenz) National Register Historic District (NR 1972). Other similar, later extant buildings in Brownsville include La Madrilena (NR 1988), the most highly detailed example of lower Rio Grande Valley commercial architecture, El Globo Nuevo at 1502 East Madison Street, and the Miguel Fernandez Hide Yard (NR 1990).)

The City of Brownsville was officially incorporated in 1850. Garey was elected as an alderman and Robert S. Leman was elected as the first mayor of the city. Leman and his wife Nancy lived in The Gem after they purchased it from Garey and the partners of the Brownsville Township Company. Several local history sources define The Gem as a "drinking establishment" or cafe where local politics were frequently discussed and the town's newly elected leaders conferred on both a formal and informal basis.

The earliest known reference to the appellation "The Gem" is given in Teresa Griffin Viele's 1851 account of Brownsville. The bride of Lieutenant Egbert L. Viele, wrote, "... The mayor called to invite the officers of the garrison of Fort Brown and their families to the soiree to be given at The Gem, the principal cafe of the place."

Deed records reveal that the Leman sold The Gem on 11 July 1854, to Joseph Palmer. Palmer was influential in Brownsville's early development and he lived in The Gem and operated some of his business concerns from the building. He owned a bookstore, first called the Literary Depot and later, Libreria, that sold books and newspapers from far-reaching cities like New Orleans, New York, and Philadelphia. For several years he was a part owner of The American Flag, a bilingual local publication that Isaac Neville Fleeson, William G. Dryden, and Hugh McLeod established in 1846. In association with E.B. Scarborough, Palmer produced another newspaper, El Centinela. Palmer purchased The Brownsville Flag from Scarborough in 1859.

In 1861 United States troops abandoned Fort Brown and throughout the Civil War Confederate and Union forces alternated control of the garrison. In early 1864 Brownsville became the temporary seat of the Union state government under Texas military governor A.J. Hamilton. On 23 May 1864, Judge John Hancock, a distinguished Union supporter, delivered a speech in support of the Union cause from the balcony of The Gem, marking a historic local event.

Palmer sold The Gem in 1867 and moved to Kings County, New York. George More purchased the building, then the property changed hands several times. In 1945 Thelma Campbell acquired the building and operated a specialty store on the ground floor. Estella Garza Perez purchased the building in 1946. Her daughter, Nena Roser, inherited The Gem following Perez's 1949 death. Al and Nena Roser operate the ground floor as offices for Rosers Customs Service; they reside in the upper story, continuing a long-established tradition for Rio Grande Valley commercial buildings.

The Gem was remodeled in the 1950s. Through the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, The Gem was restored in 1989. The building retains a high degree of integrity and is in excellent condition.