Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas

Washington-on-the-Brazos, not to be confused with Washington, Texas, is an unincorporated community and State Historic Site along the Brazos River in Washington County, Texas, United States.[1] Founded when Texas was still a part of Mexico, the settlement was the site of the Convention of 1836 and the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence. The name "Washington-on-the-Brazos" was used to distinguish the settlement from "Washington-on-the-Potomac"—i.e., Washington, D.C.

Washington-on-the-Brazos Washington
Unincorporated community
Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historical Park sign
Washington-on-the-Brazos Show map of Texas Washington-on-the-Brazos Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 30°19′26.35″N 96°09′12.75″W
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Washington
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s)	979
GNIS feature ID	1349512[1]

Replica of the building at Washington-on-the-Brazos where the Texas Declaration was signed. The inscription reads: "Here a Nation was born."

Inside the replica of the building where Texan independence was declared on March 2, 1836

U.S. Post Office in Washington-on-the- Brazos

Founded largely by immigrants from the southern United States, Washington-on-the-Brazos is known as "the birthplace of Texas" because here, on March 1, 1836, Texas delegates met to formally announce Texas' intention to separate from Mexico and to draft the constitution of the new Republic of Texas. They organized an interim government to serve until a government could be elected and inaugurated.[2]

The delegates declared independence on March 2, 1836. 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, which later was 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 business. The strife of the Civil War took another toll on the town, and by the turn of the 20th century, it was virtually abandoned.