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 Washington
County was named for George Washington. The county was organized in 1837 and
began as a Mexican municipality. Located near the center of Stephen F.
Austin's first colony, the area was opened to settlement in 1821 under
Spanish control. It is one of the earliest settled areas in Texas.
Spurred by the liberal land grants, settlers from all parts of the United
States and immigrants from Western Europe gathered in the colony. The first
cabins with their crops of necessity, such as corn, peas and tobacco
patches, grew into ranches, plantations and farm settlements. The early city
of Washington-on-the-Brazos was started in 1821. It developed and flourished
with steamboat navigation on the Brazos River until the coming of the
railroads in 1860-1880. It was the site of the signing of the Declaration of
Independence from Mexico in 1836.
On March 1, 1836, delegates elected from each municipality in Texas convened
in an unfinished frame building in Washington-on-the-Brazos. While the
forces of General Santa Anna laid siege to the Alamo, the Convention of 1836
declared Texas' independence from Mexico, wrote a new constitution which
established the Republic of Texas and organized an ad interim government.
The historic and courageous work of the brave men gathered in Washington to
declare Texas independence is often overshadowed by the fall of the Alamo
and the defeat of Santa Ana by Sam Houston in the Battle of San Jacinto.
After all, at the same time these men put ink to paper, the blood of their
fellow Texans was being shed at the Alamo, where men like Colonel William
Barrett Travis and Jim Bowie fought to their deaths and became folk heroes.
Often overlooked is the courage and determination of the delegates as they
worked while facing the same fear and consequences that loomed over the men
who labored for American independence from the British. They knew the
desperation of Travis and his men located in the Alamo in San Antonio. They
received word of his dire circumstance twice during the Convention. The
Alamo was only a few days' march from where they convened, and rumors that
Santa Anna was just down the road kept them on edge.
On March 15, news of the fall of the Alamo finally reached the delegation in
Washington. One delegate had lost a son at the Alamo, another a brother. The
men remained diligent to their task, though heartbroken, weary and fearing
an invasion by enemy troops. For two more days the worked tirelessly,
finally electing the new country’s government officials. On March 17, the
delegates, along with the citizens of Washington, fled the advancing troops
of Santa Anna.
After the Texans' victory at San Jacinto the townspeople returned, they
found Washington the only plundering had been the work of army stragglers or
deserters and other fleeing Texans.
Town fathers lobbied for Washington’s designation as the permanent capital
of the Republic of Texas. A special committee of the Congress passed over
Washington and other contenders in favor of Waterloo, which later was
renamed Austin.
In 1842, during renewed invasions by Mexico, President Sam Houston moved the
capital from Austin to Washington.
During its’ time as capital of the Republic, Washington grew. Even after the
seat of the government was moved back to Austin in 1845 Washington thrived
due to the cotton trade on the Brazos River. Washington’s destiny was
foreshadowed when in the mid 1850’s the railroad bypassed it. The Civil War
sealed its fate.
German immigration began in the county in the 1850's and increased after the
Civil War. Most of the large farms were divided into smaller ones and taken
up by the German immigrants. The county is very proud of its German heritage
and demonstrates it vividly at the annual "Maifest" celebration in Brenham.
Brenham was established in 1844 and named for Richard Fox Brenham, a hero of
the Mier Expedition. The city was incorporated in 1858. It was occupied by
Federal troops during the Civil War, who partially burned the city in 1867
following a confrontation with local citizens.
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