| |
| The
dramatic statue of Childress (by Raoul
Josset) in front of the Star of the Republic Museum. TE photo, November 2002
|
 |
Barrington
Living History Farm
21300 Park Rd. 12
Washington TX 77880 936/878-2214
barrington1850@earthlink.net
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us
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.
Barrington Farm today
is a hands-on educational facility demonstrating early 19th Century Texas life/
agriculture and animal husbandry. |
Handcrafted
reproduction log cabins
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, September 2010 |
More
views of Barrington Farm
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, September 2010 |
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 Historic Site
Box 305 Washington
TX 77880-0305
936/878-2214
Washington.Brazos@tpwd.state.tx.us
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us
http://www.birthplaceoftexas.com
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