By RAY QUIROGA
publisher@sbnewspaper.com
A long-standing exhibit spotlighting the history of the Resaca City, and curated by the San Benito Historical Society (SBHS), a volunteer organization dedicated to documenting and preserving San Benito’s history, was removed from the San Benito Community Building on Heywood Street.
SBHS volunteers unceremoniously dismantled displays and removed artifacts from the building last Friday morning. According to SBHS co-founder Sandra Tumberlinson, they felt they had little choice but to remove the artifacts from the City-owned building because of what she called the City’s lack of cooperation in refurbishing the occupied space and a lack of funding to help cover staff costs.
In February, during a San Benito City Commissioners’ meeting, the City officials committed to refurbishing the Community Building, believed to have been constructed in the 1950s, and to restoring it as a public rental space, previously used for events such as weddings and quinceañeras.
In 2006, under San Benito Mayor Joe Hernandez, the smaller Bougainvillea Room, which measures about 1,000 square feet, was made available to the SBHS, the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame & Museum, and the curators of Freddy Fender artifacts to host their respective exhibits.
Years later, the City broke ground on what is now the San Benito Cultural Heritage Museum and Visitor Information Center, located adjacent to the Community Building at 250 E. Heywood St. The City of San Benito funded it, in part through a USDA grant in partnership with the Conjunto organization and the SBHS.
However, by the time the facility was constructed, the City’s administration had changed, and City officials opted for a different route, deciding to use the building for its newly created cultural department.
In earlier discussions, organizational members cited political and financial costs as reasons why pursuing legal action against the City was not practical.
In February 2023, the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame & Museum moved to San Benito’s well-known Azteca building on Robertson Street, while the history museum kept operating out of the Community Building, except for a period between 2020 and 2023 when, according to Tumberlinson, a political dispute with the City prevented access to the building.
Tumberlinson added that the City has since removed the SBHS’s sign from the Community Building’s entrance and has not cooperated with the SBHS with funding for a museum staffer. The SBHS itself has worked to improve the space, donating $5,000 for refurbishment efforts.
Tumberlinson added that the City offered the SBHS the chance to move its exhibit into the old Stonewall Jackson Hotel, which has been closed for years, but she said it’s so run-down that it’s years away from being habitable, if at all.
An official statement from the City of San Benito reads, “San Benito is rich with history, where the past is always present. We sincerely thank and appreciate the group of volunteers for their passion and dedication in establishing the historical museum and documenting history. Since the organization stopped operations about five years ago, the facility has remained closed.”
The statement continues, “The building is aging and will require updates to ensure it is safe, accessible, and ready to serve the community. The City, through our Cultural Arts Department, is taking the next steps to establish a city-run facility that will encourage community involvement in creating a sustainable, accessible space for everyone to enjoy for generations to come.”
It states, “The Cultural Arts Department currently operates the San Benito Cultural Arts Center as well as the San Benito Cultural Heritage Museum.”
However, Tumberlinson strongly denies that the SBHS ever “ceased to exist,” adding that it has remained active, even during COVID, as shown by several events it has organized, including the unveiling of historical markers throughout the city and the operation of the Callandret Black History Museum in San Benito.
Tumberlinson said that city-related artifacts are on loan to the San Benito Chamber of Commerce and the San Benito School District for a future museum, while the Freddy Fender-related artifacts are on loan to the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame & Museum, where they are on display.