Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas, bought 1,107 acres here from M. Austin Bryan in 1844. Named Barrington for Jones' birthplace in Massachusetts, the site was the White House of Texas from 1844-46. By 1845 Jones had built two dwellings, a kitchen, office, smokehouse, and stables. After his leadership in the annexation of Texas to the U.S. in 1846, he retired here to become a gentleman farmer. Other buildings were added in 1847, Jones sold the plantation in 1857, and the house was moved to Washington-on-the-Brazos State Park in 1936.