When delegates met here in 1836 to declare independence, Washington was a new and tiny town, a small community of roughly 100 residents built around a ferry landing where the La Bahia Road crossed the Brazos River. It had good water from springs and stood high on a bluff, making flooding unlikely, but because it was so far up the river and routine steamboat travel had not yet begun, goods in its stores were hard to come by. Life changed when Texas declared independence and revolution brought war. After the fall of the Alamo, as the Mexican Army advanced, the Texas government left town, and the rest of Washington's population fled as well during the Runaway Scrape. The end of the war brought little relief, as the economic problems that followed the Texas Revolution hit Washington hard. By 1842, a visitor called it a fine place but found most of its fine stores and dwelling houses deserted. The town where the Texas Republic began was not even the capital, and its economy was suffering.

Photo: James Hulse

Photo: James Hulse