W a s h i n g t o n
60
O n
T h e
B r a z o s
Where Texas Bec a me
TEXAS
WRITTEN BY SHARON BRASS
What was once one of Texas’s most important cities is now a
tiny dot on the map – one that you won’t want to miss.
T
he dot representing Washington, Texas, on the west side of
the Brazos River, is so small on today’s maps that GPS devices
have a hard time locating it.
It’s difficult to imagine that Washington was a booming business
center in early history. On 19th-century maps the “Washington” dot
was one of the largest in Texas.
Washington began forming in 1821 when Texas was still a Province of
Mexico. It was to this part of Texas that Stephen F. Austin brought the
first 300 American settlers, known as the “Old 300.”
A group of these settlers traveled up the Brazos River from the Gulf of
Mexico and landed on the west bank, where the river intersects La
Bahia Road. The centuries-old La Bahia trail had previously been used
only by Indians and early explorers from France and Spain. Now it was
the primary route being used by the Old 300.
The American settlers threw-up tents on this strategic site and named
their encampment “La Bahia.” Andrew Robinson, one of the first
residents, quickly established a ferry to help La Bahia travelers cross
the Brazos. Within three years he had built lodging accommodations
including a place of “entertainment” at the ferry landing.
Texas in early 1836,
a Province of Mexico .
In 1836 the cities of
Washington
and
san Felipe
de Austin
were the only
population centers
in Austin’s Colony,
a large part of Texas.
Robinson’s son-in-law, John W. Hall, was also among the
Old 300. The Halls joined Robinson in operating the ferry
and other businesses, and they quickly recognized the
commercial possibilities of La Bahia.
In June, 1835, Hall organized the first town association
with four others. One of the partners was Asa Hoxey
from Washington, Georgia, and he suggested renaming
the town for his home town. “La Bahia” became
“Washington” and some settlers added “on the Brazos”
to differentiate it from the “Washingtons” back in the
States.
The Washington Town Association arranged for land,
along the Brazos, to be surveyed into a town site. The
lots sold quickly and by 1835 Washington was filling with
saloons, merchants, doctors, lawyers, black smiths and
carpenters.
The business men in Washington were ambitious and,
in the fall of 1835, they offered the Texas Constitutional
Convention a free meeting place in their city. The
Convention had met earlier at San Felipe de Austin, the
Texas Capital further south on the Brazos. They planned
their fight for freedom against Mexico’s oppressive rule
and recent attacks. They also debated the security of
their position in San Felipe, with Santa Anna’s troops in
the area.
The offer of a safer meeting place, with access to the
Brazos as an escape route, was too good to refuse. In
December of 1835 Washington was chosen as the site
for The Convention’s March meeting. The delegates
were elected in February of 1836 and they met on the
first day of March in Washington, making it the Texas
capital by default.
The accommodations were no comparison to those
enjoyed by the men who had declared independence
from England just a few decades earlier. At Washingtonon-the Brazos the meeting place was an unfinished
building without doors or windows.
The window
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“Washington is a rare place to hold a national convention in.
They will have to leave it promptly to avoid starvation.”
- Willia m Fairfax Gray -
March 1836 diary entry while at the Constitutional Convention
openings had been covered with cloth, but that was no
protection from the 33º temperature.
Living accommodations for the delegates were a little
better, but not much. The youthful town then contained
only one house large enough to accommodate this
body of distinguished men. William Fairfax Gray, an
observer at the Convention, noted in his diary that he
stayed at a house in which “the host’s wife and children
and about thirty lodgers all slept in the same apartment,
some in beds, some on cots, but the greatest part on
the floor.”
The food was equally primitive. Gray wrote, “Supper
consisted of fried pork and coarse cornbread, and
miserable coffee.” He concluded that “Washington is
a rare place to hold a national convention in. They will
have to leave it promptly to avoid starvation.”
?
That was life in the capital city of Texas. However, that
was life in most of Texas at the time. The delegates
wasted no time crafting the Texas Declaration of
Independence from Mexico and the Texas Constitution,
giving birth to a new nation, The Republic of Texas.
After Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna at San Jacinto
a few weeks later, peace was quickly restored in the
colonies. Washington continued to grow and thrive.
One of the major growth stimulants was river boat traffic
which brought many settlers and supplies, and enabled
local products to be sold downriver at the Gulf of Mexico
and beyond.
The market for the burgeoning cotton crop in Washington
County was the cloth-weaving industry on the U.S.
east coast and Europe. Ocean-going vessels were the
easiest, fastest, and cheapest way to feed that market.
Did you know?
WASHINGTON WAS:
• One of Texas’ first Anglo settlements.
• One of Texas’ first important economic
centers.
• One of Texas’ first transportation hubs.
• Texas’ first inland sea port.
• A two-time capital of Texas.
• The inauguration site of the first and last
presidents of the Texas Republic.
• The place where Texans risked their lives
to write the Declaration of Independence
from Mexico and the Texas Constitution,
giving birth to a new nation – the Republic of Texas.
At times, one could see as many as three river boats
docked at the Washington landing. In 1842, the arrival
of the Mustang marked a milestone for local cotton
growers. The flat-bottomed steamer was the vanguard
of river boats with capacity for 300 bales of cotton.
The year 1842 was fateful for Washington in another
way. In March of that year, Mexican troops again
entered Texas and occupied San Antonio for a short
time. Austin, then the Texas capital, was on the edge of
the frontier and its primitive log cabins were vulnerable
to Mexican attacks. The government was relocated to
Houston for a short time, causing a dispute among Texas
citizens. Under pressure, President Sam Houston moved
the Texas capital back to Washington.
Accommodations for the government in Washington
were little better than those described in Gray’s diary six
years earlier. The Senate met in the attic above a saloon
until the government was moved back to Austin in 1844.
By 1845 Washington was a bustling, growing commercial
center. In addition to Brazos and La Bahia Road traffic,
there were several popular stage coach lines to
During the next decade the town’s population grew to
750 residents, the height of its heyday. This population
supported four churches, the Washington Female
Academy, two hotels, and two Odd Fellows chapters.
By this time there was a commercial section of
Washington with brick buildings of two and three stories.
The robust river trade prompted the creation of the
Brazos Steamship Association in 1848. Although the
Association’s prime purpose was to improve navigation
on the Brazos, it also bought two steamboats, the
Washington and the Brazos.
However, the flourishing river commerce, the life-blood
of Washington, proved in the end to also become its
death knell. The community had centered its economy
around the Brazos, and was heavily invested in the ferry
and river boat operations.
When offered an
By 1875, a mere decade after Emancipation,
Washington’s population was estimated to be only 175
people. Buildings were abandoned and weeds grew in
the streets. A 1912 fire destroyed most of the remaining
structures.
T o d ay, i t i s
difficult to find
any trace
of the original city of
Washington,
Texas .
However, there are plenty of artifacts, exhibits and 19thcentury adventures to be found at Washington On The
Brazos State Historic Site. Visitors can see how our hardy
forefathers lived, and learn how they risked their lives for
our freedoms.
opportunity
So set your GPS and see if you can find that “Washington”
dot. When you get there, you will relish the heroic stories,
and you’ll be even more proud or your Texas heritage. D
to participate in
railroads, city
fathers l acked the
Special thanks to Washington On The Brazos State
Historic Site for their help with this story.
foresight
to s afeguard their
future .
In 1858 the Houston and Texas Central Railroad
Company (H&TC) offered to include Washington in their
plan for new tracks, to connect to the main line from
Galveston and Houston. Washington officials refused to
pay $11,000 for this rail branch, not realizing that it would
be a fatal decision for the city.
As a result, Washington was bypassed by the railroad
and Brenham became the H&TC western terminus.
Texas’ economy shifted, and Brenham quickly became
the most important center in the state for transportation,
communications and commerce.
Almost simultaneously with the 1861 arrival of the railroad
in Brenham, Texas joined the Confederate States of
America. The ensuing Union blockade in the Gulf of
Mexico put an end to cotton traffic on the Brazos, and
Washington further faded as a commercial center.
Then came Emancipation on June 19, 1865, when
slaves in the Southern states were freed. Many slaves
lived on cotton plantations surrounding Washington,
and their freedom brought failed crops and economic
devastation for local plantation owners.
Photo courtesy of Washington On The Brazos State Historic Site
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WASH INGTON ON TH E BRAZOS
Brenham, Independence, Chappell Hill and Austin. The
city was home to three newspapers and a Masonic
Lodge.