La Nueto Libertad (Cueto Building)

The quoted text below is from Historic Brownsville, Original Townsite Guide, principal researcher Betty Bay and published by the Brownsville Historical Association in 1980. This treasure is out of print but several Commission members have copies; there is a copy in Brownsville Southmost Library; and Amazon.com claims to be able to find used copies. Remember, the 'current' description and ownership in the quoted text is as of 1980. The photos below are as of 2004 and show effects of considerable restoration work.

"Built in 1893 for Don Andres Cueto. What is remembered by the Cueto family about the original appearance of this building and its grounds will materially help you visualize the gracious and gently-paced lifestyle in this semi-tropical city at the turn of the century. This building complex and the lifestyle it accommodated underscore the contribution of the cultures of both Spain and Mexico to this town and the melding of these and other cultures to give Brownsville its unique character. This building complex also underscores the influence of New Orleans-style architecture and the similarities of many buildings here with the French Quarter in New Orleans.

"The two-story brick Victorian structure had the traditional second-floor balcony complete with a decorative New Orleans-style railing. Heavy wrought iron columns supported the balcony, whose overhang provided a shaded sidewalk for passers-by. Six-over-nine-light windows formerly opened from the second floor onto the balcony, which was destroyed in the 1933 hurricane. The building has a parapeted brick cornice. Its brick foundation is ten feet wide, built in pyramid fashion. The structure still is owned by the Cueto family."

[For a time Harry Bennett and Nell Wayne Bennett held title to the building. Sra Claudia Garcia made her home there. Later, ownership fell to University of Texas Brownsville/Southernmost College who used the building. For example, the UTB/TSC Center for Civic Engagement was headquarted in the Cueto Building. The property is listed in the National Register for Historic Places.] 

"Originally, the building was set on a very large lot, with a sizeable barn in the rear. The family kept a cow for fresh milk, and chickens for fresh eggs. A number of Brownsville families did this. The now-capped well in the back yard was the family water supply.

"The family residence adjoined this family business building. The grounds of the commercial-residential complex also were in the New Orleans style. Surrounding the property was a decorative iron fence, some of which still stands-although almost lost under vigorous vines. The handsomely ornate iron gate, some parts now missing, still can be seen. [Compare 2004 photo at right, below.]

"Originally within the grounds was a beautiful, and much-loved, garden with a vineyard, peach trees, Japanese plums, many ornamental trees, and a profusion of roses. Other flowering plants bloomed in marble vases imported from Europe. There was also the color, the flashing flight, and the song of birds. Mrs. Cueto loved birds and had quite a number in cages about her garden.

"The Cueto family contributed to the Spanish and Mexican heritage of Brow nsville. Andres Cueto had three brothers, Jose, Manuel, and Fernando, all eventually coming to Brownsville from their birthplace in Pendueles, Asturia, Spain.

"Andres, the oldest and the first to leave Spain, migrated to Brownsville and became a clerk in a store here. He soon established his own general store, which he named "Libertad." It was on Thirteenth Street and East Madison, cater-cornered from the site on which he later built this building for "La Nueva Libertad," a wholesale and retail grocery, pawn shop, and bakery. His brothers came from Spain to work in his store. Later two of them opened their own stores; Jose about four blocks away, and Manuel at Sixth and Adams. Fernando eventually returned to Spain.

"Through the years Andres Cueto acquired a great deal of property, some of which was used to construct rent houses. In 1893, historian Chatfield listed him among the top 62 Brownsville taxpayers whose property was assessed at $5,000 and upward. He listed Cueto's at $7,200.1

"Andres Cueto married Estella Fernandez, a Mexican citizen. They had one son, Andres, Jr., who later opened the first auto agency in Brownsville. Jose Cueto never married. Manuel Cueto married Pilar Orive; they had four daughters and one son." *

* Manuel Cueto married Pilar Orive and had four daughters with her. After her death, Manuel married Benigna Orive, Pilar's sister. Manuel and Benniga had one son, Manuel, Jr. He is the father of Cornelia Cueto Beall (who supplied this correction).

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