Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas

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Unincorporated community in Texas, United States

Washington-on-the-Brazos Washington
Unincorporated community
Replica of Independence Hall, where the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed. The inscription reads: "Here a Nation was born."
Washington-on-the-BrazosLocation of Washington-on-the-Brazos in the state of TexasShow map of TexasWashington-on-the-BrazosLocation of Washington-on-the-Brazos in the United StatesShow map of the United States
Coordinates: 30°19′31″N 96°09′24″W / 30.32528°N 96.15667°W / 30.32528; -96.15667
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Washington
Elevation	69 m (226 ft)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	77880
Area code	979
GNIS feature ID	1349512

Washington-on-the-Brazos is an unincorporated community along the Brazos River in Washington County, Texas, United States. The town is best known for being the site of the Convention of 1836 and the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence.

The town is named for Washington, Georgia, itself named for George Washington. It is officially known as just "Washington," but after the Civil War came to be known as "Washington-on-the-Brazos" to distinguish the settlement from "Washington-on-the-Potomac," Washington, D.C..

History

Washington was founded in 1833 by John W. Hall, one of the Old Three Hundred settlers, on land he had been given two years before by his father-in-law Andrew Robinson. It was located at a ferry crossing over the Brazos River on the La Bahia Road that dated from 1821.

As the town grew, most settlers were immigrants from the Southern United States, in what was then Mexican Texas. Because of its location on the Brazos River and near major roads, Washington became a commercial center, drawing in new inhabitants from nearby areas. After the outbreak of the Texas Revolution, General Sam Houston made his headquarters at Washington in December 1835.

Washington-on-the-Brazos is known as "the birthplace of Texas" because, on March 1, 1836, Texas delegates met in the town to formally announce Texas' intention to separate from Mexico and to draft a constitution for the new Republic of Texas. They organized an interim government to serve until a permanent one could be formed.

The delegates adopted the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836, signing it on the following day. They adopted their constitution on March 16. The delegates worked until March 17, when they had to flee with the residents of Washington, to escape the advancing Mexican Army. The townspeople returned after the Mexican Army was defeated at San Jacinto on April 21. Town leaders lobbied for Washington's designation as the permanent capital of the Republic of Texas, but leaders of the Republic favored Waterloo, later renamed Austin.

Washington County was established by the legislature of the Republic of Texas in 1836 and organized in 1837, when Washington-on-the-Brazos was designated as the county seat. Although the county seat moved to Brenham in 1844, the town continued to thrive as a center for the cotton trade until the mid-1850s, as it was located on the Brazos River to use for shipping out the crop. The construction of railroads bypassed the town and pulled off its businesses. The strife of the Civil War took another toll on the town, and by the turn of the 20th century, it was virtually abandoned.

The Washington American, an organ of the American (Know Nothing) party, was published there in 1855 and 1856.

Culture

The town is home to the Washington-on-the-Brazos Historical Site, which has three main attractions: The Star of the Republic Museum (a museum about the Texas Republic), a replica of Independence Hall (where the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed), and Barrington Plantation (home of last Texas Republic President Anson Jones). In 1899, the local schools created a monument to Independence Hall.

The town is also home to Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, founded in 1849 as the oldest Black Catholic church in Texas.

Washington Avenue in Houston is named for Washington-on-the-Brazos and is the western route to Washington County.

Geography

Washington-on-the-Brazos is located on Farm to Market Road 912 off Texas State Highway 105, 18 mi (29 km) east of Brenham and 10 mi (16 km) west of Navasota in the upper northeastern corner of Washington County. It is near the intersection of the Brazos and Navasota rivers.

Education

The first school in the community may have been established by the wife of John Hall in 1837. In 1841, local Masonic Lodge created its own school, and the Washington Female Academy briefly existed from 1856 to 1857. There were two schools in the 1930s, segregated according to race. Today, the community is served by the Brenham Independent School District.

Gallery

Inside the replica of the building where Texan independence was declared on March 2, 1836
Visitor Center at Washington-on-the-Brazos
Star of the Republic Museum is located within the state historical park.
Frontier cabin replica at Star of the Republic Museum
Steamboat exhibit at Star of the Republic Museum
Entrance to Barrington Living History Museum
Barrington Farm, residence of Anson Jones
Corral at Washington-on-the-Brazos
Washington-on-the-Brazos historical marker
Texas Historical Marker for Andrew Robinson Sr.

References

^ "Washington, Texas". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
"Washington ZIP Code". zipdatamaps.com. 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
^ Christian, Carole E. "Washington-on-the-Brazos, TX". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
"Washington On The Brazos". Britannica. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
Long, Christopher. "Washington the Brazos State Historic Site". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
^ Evans, Roxanne J. "Black Catholics". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
"Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas". Texas Escapes Online Magazine. Retrieved June 20, 2023.

External links

v t e Municipalities and communities of Washington County, Texas, United States
County seat: Brenham
Cities	Brenham Burton	Washington County map
Unincorporated communities	Berlin Chappell Hill Greenvine Independence Latium Longpoint Mill Creek Phillipsburg‡ Prairie Hill Quarry Sandy Hill Washington-on-the-Brazos Wesley Whitman Wiedeville William Penn
Ghost towns	Gay Hill Goodwill Rock Island‡ Tigertown Winkelmann Yegua Zionville
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Texas portal United States portal

v t e Republic of Texas
Capitals	Harrisburg Washington-on-the-Brazos Galveston Velasco Columbia Houston Austin
Presidents	David G. Burnet Sam Houston Mirabeau Lamar Anson Jones
Vice Presidents	Lorenzo de Zavala Mirabeau Lamar David G. Burnet Edward Burleson Kenneth Lewis Anderson
Documents	Texas Declaration of Independence Constitution of the Republic of Texas Texas Archive War
Colonization	Henri Castro Fisher–Miller Land Grant
Presidential elections	1836 1838 1841 1844

Protected areas of Texas

Federal

National Parks	Big Bend Guadalupe Mountains
National monuments and memorials	Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument Castner Range National Monument Chamizal National Memorial Military Working Dog Teams National Monument Waco Mammoth National Monument
National Historical Parks and Historic Sites	Fort Davis NHS Lyndon B. Johnson NHP Palo Alto Battlefield NHP San Antonio Missions NHP
National Historic Trails	El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
National Recreation Areas	Amistad Lake Meredith
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Rio Grande
National Wildlife Refuges	Anahuac Aransas Attwater Prairie Chicken Balcones Canyonlands Big Boggy Brazoria Buffalo Lake Caddo Lake Grulla Hagerman Laguna Atascosa Little Sandy Lower Rio Grande Valley McFaddin Muleshoe Neches River San Bernard Santa Ana Texas Point Trinity River
National Forests	Angelina Davy Crockett Sabine Sam Houston
National Grasslands	Caddo Lyndon B. Johnson McClellan Creek Rita Blanca
Other Protected Areas	Big Thicket National Preserve Padre Island National Seashore

State

State Parks and Natural Areas	Abilene Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area Atlanta Balmorhea Barton Warnock Visitor Center Bastrop Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Big Bend Ranch Big Spring Blanco Bonham Brazos Bend Buescher Caddo Lake Caprock Canyons Cedar Hill Chinati Mountains State Natural Area Choke Canyon Cleburne Colorado Bend Cooper Lake Copper Breaks Daingerfield Davis Hill Davis Mountains Devils River State Natural Area Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area Dinosaur Valley Eisenhower Enchanted Rock State Natural Area Estero Llano Grande Fairfield Lake Falcon Fort Boggy Fort Parker State Park Fort Richardson State Park Franklin Mountains Galveston Island Garner Goliad Goose Island Government Canyon State Natural Area Guadalupe River Hill Country State Natural Area Honey Creek State Natural Area Huntsville Indian Lodge Inks Lake Kickapoo Cavern Lake Arrowhead Lake Bob Sandlin Lake Brownwood Lake Casa Blanca International Lake Colorado City Lake Corpus Christi Lake Livingston Lake Mineral Wells Lake Somerville Lake Tawakoni Lake Whitney Lockhart Longhorn Cavern Lost Maples State Natural Area Martin Creek Lake Martin Dies Jr. Matagorda Island McKinney Falls McKinney Roughs Meridian Mission Tejas Monahans Sandhills Mother Neff State Park Mustang Island Old Tunnel Palmetto Palo Duro Canyon Palo Pinto Mountains Pedernales Falls Possum Kingdom Purtis Creek Ray Roberts Lake Resaca de la Palma San Angelo Sea Rim Sheldon Lake South Llano River Stephen F. Austin Tyler Village Creek Walter Umphrey Wyler Aerial Tramway
State Historic Sites	Acton Admiral Nimitz Barrington Living History Farm at Washington-on-the-Brazos Battleship TEXAS Caddo Mounds Casa Navarro Confederate Reunion Grounds Eisenhower Birthplace Fanthorp Inn Fannin Battleground Fort Griffin Fort Lancaster Fort Leaton Fort McKavett Fort Richardson State Park Fulton Mansion Goliad Hueco Tanks Kreische Brewery Landmark Inn Levi Jordan Plantation Lipantitlan Lyndon B. Johnson Magoffin Homestead Mission Espiritu Santo Mission Dolores Mission Rosario Monument Hill Penn Farm Point Isabel Lighthouse Sabine Pass Battleground Sam Bell Maxey House Samuel T. Rayburn House San Felipe San Jacinto Battleground Sauer-Beckmann Farm Seminole Canyon Starr Family Home Varner–Hogg Plantation Washington-on-the-Brazos Zaragoza Birthplace
State Forests and Arboretums	E.O. Siecke I.D. Fairchild John Henry Kirby Masterson W. Goodrich Jones Ruth Bowling Nichols Arboretum Olive Scott Petty Arboretum
State Wildlife Trails	Great Texas Coastal Heart of Texas Panhandle Plains Prairies and Pineywoods

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

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