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Washington-on-the-Brazos
First and Last Capitol of the Republic of Texas
Washington County, Central
Texas S
FM 912 off Hwy 105
At the Brazos River (Washington County Line)
Near the Juncture of the Navasota and Brazos Rivers
18 miles E of Brenham
10 miles W of Navasota
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Your Area Hotel Here & Save
Brenham
Hotels
Navasota
Hotels |
| The
dramatic statue of Childress (by Raoul
Josset) in front of the Star of the Republic Museum. TE photo,
November 2002 |
Washington-on-the-Brazos
State Park
The bill authorizing
the purchase of property and improvement of the site was signed in
1915 by Governor James Ferguson.
Marked paths follow some of the actual roads of Old Washington.
One stop is a replica of the building where the Texas Declaration
of Independence was signed in 1836 and an inscribed obelisk stands
- given by Texas schoolchildren in 1900. |
Barrington
Living History Farm
21300 Park Rd.
12 Washington TX 77880 936/878-2214
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/barrington/
The plantation home of Anson Jones, last President of the Republic
of Texas. The main house at Barrington served as the last "white house"
of the Republic and was originally four miles west of Washington on
the road to Independence. |
Star of
the Republic Museum
Exhibits and artifacts
of life as it was on the Brazos in the early 1800s. Early newspapers,
a press, a forge, and rare personal items are displayed. There is
something for the most incurious visitor - should you happen to have
one in your party. |
A Brief
History of Old Washington-on-the-Brazos
The first settlers
of Stephen F. Austin's Colonists arrived in late 1821. Andrew Robinson
settled on the west side of the Brazos with his son in law John W.
Hall and built a ferry in 1822. Robinson was given a grant by Baron
Bastrop and Stephen F. Austin in 1824 which included a league of land
and the authority to operate the ferry. The town was surveyed and
platted in 1833.
Dr. Asa Hoxie named the town Washington - after a town in Wilkes County,
Georgia - said to be the first town in the United States to be named
after George Washington.
The town has been described as "little more than a collection of rough
log buildings scattered on a bluff about half a mile back from the
Brazos River. Colonel William Gray, a land agent from Virginia succinctly
described it as a "disgusting place."
After the fledgling government of the Republic of Texas evacuated
the site at the approach of Santa Anna's army, it was said that "the
glory of the town had departed with the government." When people started
moving back, it was described as such:
"the highly respectful resident population of 250 watched with impotent
disapproval the doings of the hundred or so gamblers, horse racers
and sports who had most of the money." Another observed: "there was
a decrepit air about the place - except for racing season."
In 1842 when Washington became the capitol for the second time - prosperity
was apparent in the brick buildings and additional homes.
Washington prospered as river traffic increased and there were sometimes
as many as three stern-wheeled boats tied up at the docks. An 1854
flood left a boat high and dry in a cotton field where it was eventually
dismantled. Captains took note - and moved their ships to deeper and
more predictable waters.
The most momentous event since the signing of the declaration of independence
occurred in 1845 when the Congress met at Washington on June 16, 1845
and Texas ceased to be a Republic and joined the United States.
Washington at zenith in the 1850s had a population of 1,500 - a figure
it never saw again. The town refused to pay a bonus to the approaching
Houston and Texas Central Railroad and became one of the first of
many Texas towns to experience "death by railroad bypass."
Tourist Information
Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historical Park - 979-878-2461.
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/washingt/washingt.htm
http://www.birthplaceoftexas.com/
See FM
390 - La Bahia Scenic Highway
Trip: The
Road to Independence
© John Troesser |
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