Our History

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.

In 1854, the state changed the charter of the non- denominational Chappell Hill Male and Female College. Having lost interest in Rutersville College, the Texas Conference of the Methodist Church was seeking such an enterprise when it met and decided to found a new Methodist institution. The school would be named "Soule University" after Bishop Joshua Soule of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Chappell Hill was selected as the site.

Today Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historical Park and Star of the Republic Museum reside where the town of Washington once flourished, honoring the men and women who risked their lives and gave us Texas.