S.W. BROOKS

S.W. Brooks was the leading architect and builder in the Rio Grande Valley in the last half of the 19th century. Born in Pennsylvania and raised in Ohio, the young Brooks found his way to New Orleans in the 1850s where he opened a lumber yard. The Oblates ordered materials from his business to finish the roof of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral.

In 1863 he transferred his operations to Matamoros. He resided across the border until 1878 when he decided to move to Brownsville. Equally at home building public structures or private homes, Brooks was involved in the construction of the county courthouses in Rio Grande City, Hidalgo and Brownsville.

His most notable residences still standing in Brownsville are the Brown-Wagner House on 245 East St. Charles and the Kowalski-Dennett House on 507 East Elizabeth. He did extensive work for the U.S. Military including projects at Fort Brown and Fort Ringgold. Several other important structures were demolished.

Brooks built his own home across the street from the cathedral. It is now located at 623 East St. Charles. Brook's understatement as an architect is apparent in this design.

"There is a decorative gallery across the front of this Victorian-style residence," writes Betty Bay in her book describing Brownsville's historical buildings. "Shuttered, second-story windows above the front door and on one side of the house originally opened onto small ornamental balconies. The house has a double-pitched roof and a gable on each side with ornamental wood trusses in the gables."

"It has a simple elegance that I have always admired," says Ed Stapleton, a prominent attorney who resides on the same block.

Brooks died in 1903.