Washington County Soundwalk Experience > Washington on the Brazos
Washginton on the Brazos – Townsite marker – Panel 1
Transcript of audio:
This village — site of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence and first capital of the Republic of Texas — began in 1822 as a ferry crossing. Here the historic La Bahia Road (now Ferry Street) spanned the Brazos River. In 1834 a townsite was laid out and named, probably for Washington, Georgia, home of a leading settler. In 1835, enterprising citizens promoted the place as a site for the Convention of 1836 and, as a “bonus,” provided a free meeting hall. Thus, Texas’ Declaration of Independence came to be signed in an unfinished building owned by Noah Byars and Peter Mercer.
Washington on the Brazos – Independence Hall – Panel 2
Transcript of audio:
Located on the site of the original building, today’s 1970 replica designed by Raiford Stripling shows the building as it was at the time of the Convention in 1836.
Convention Hall, or Independence Hall as it is also known, was a partially completed frame building constructed by partners Noah T. Byars and Peter M. Mercer. Nine merchants in Washington agreed to rent the building for $170 for three months beginning March 1, 1836, to be used for the Convention. Byars & Mercer were to “have the house in complete order and repair” for them.
William P. Zuber’s recollections provide one of the better descriptions of the building at the time of the Convention:
“On the tenth day of March, I visited the Convention. The house in which they sat was a two-story frame, but they occupied only the first floor. It had two doors; I entered at the front door … The doorkeeper admitted me and requested that I not come in touch with the delegates as they sat.
“I found myself the only visitor present. A long, improvised table covered with writings and stationary extended north and south nearly the whole length of the floor. The delegates sat around it on chairs, the chairman … at the south end. There were no seats for visitors and no bar around the table, but the Texas people of that time were too well bred to encroach … .”
Washington on the Brazos – Sam Houston’s Presidential Office – Panel 3
Transcript of audio:
When Republic of Texas President Sam Houston arrived in Washington in October 1842, Wilson Y. McFarland turned over his own law office for the President’s use. McFarland acquired the building as part of the assets of Bailey, Gay & Hoxey in August 1842. Even before his acquisition, he kept his law office there in a building that might have dated back to 1835 under the ownership of Asa Hoxey.
Washington on the Brazos – Rucker’s Drugstore – Panel 4
Transcript of audio:
Benjamin F. Rucker paid $550 for the corner lot on June 4, 1850. On the lot was the two-story frame store building that it is believed dates from 1838 if not earlier. Appraised at $2,000 in 1838, the improvements on the lot were assessed at $400 to $700 during the 1850s. Rucker kept an inventory of drugs and related merchandise that was worth about $5,000 annually in his store
Washington on the Brazos – Bailey, Gay, and Hoxey Store – Panel 5
Transcript of audio:
Edward Bailey, Thomas Gay, and Asa Hoxey formed a merchant partnership on September 4, 1836. Gay and Hoxey had been two of the original Founders of Washington. The store was one of three principal ones in Washington during the late 1830s. They stocked ready-made clothing, domestic and imported fabric, buttons and sewing notions, men’s and women’s shoes, hats, flatware, imported ceramics, trunks, saddlery, gunpowder, tobacco, whiskey, brandy, champagne, and staples like coffee, sugar, and flour.
Washington on the Brazos – Baillaul Confectionary – Panel 6
Transcript of audio:
On July 9, 1844, Edward Bailey sold the lot and building to Auguste Baillaul, whose Confectionary Shop operated in the building for a decade or more. His 1850 ad in the Texas Ranger newspaper read: “Confectionary A. Baillaul informs the public that he has always on hand every thing pertaining to a Confectionary, together with all the nick-nacks which the most ‘fastiuous epicure’ could desire. Parties furnished with cakes, and candies, on the most reasonable terms.–From his long experience in the above line, he flatters himself that he can give satisfaction. Washington, Jan. 1, 1850.”
Washington on the Brazos – Washington Hotel – Panel 7
Transcript of audio:
Originally known as the Stephen R. (Squire) Roberts Hotel, the hotel had been built prior to April 1835, (believed to have opened in 1823). The Roberts Hotel predated Samuel Heath’s arrival in town, so it was built by someone else. It had been already built in April 1835 when the Washington Town Company was formed.
Washington on the Brazos – Hatfield’s Exchange – Panel 8
Transcript of audio:
Basil M. Hatfield purchased for $5,000 the store house of Martin Clow & Co. in 1839 and operated it as a saloon known as Hatfield’s Exchange. The property value went up in 1841, perhaps reflecting a new building or major remodeling to the structure. The value of Hatfield’s property seems to remain around $3,000 annually but reduced to $1,000 by 1860.
Washington on the Brazos – Hall and Lott’s tavern – Panel 9
Transcript of audio:
John W. Hall and John Lott continued to operate their tavern until December 1, 1836, when they rented the operation to Henry R. Cartmell and Bernard W. Holtzclaw for one year. The sale of the tavern on February 15, 1837 paid Hall and Lott $1,500 each in a total of seven promissory notes.
Cartmell continued to operate the tavern, promoting it as a “House of Entertainment for the reception of Travelers, at the town of Washington, on the Brazos” in an advertisement in a Galveston newspaper in 1842.
Washington on the Brazos – Andrew Robinson Marker – Panel 10
Transcript of audio:
Andrew Robinson was the first settler of Stephen F. Austin’s “Old 300” colonists to arrive in Texas. He came in November 1821 with his wife Nancy and 2 children. In 1824 he received title to over 9,000 acres of land and was made a captain in the colonial militia. The town of Washington was surveyed on his grant, and he became a co-founder of it. By 1830 he was operating a ferry at La Bahia Crossing as well as a hotel and saloon. In 1835 he fought in the Battle of Gonzales, where his unit first carried into battle the original Lone Star flag made by Sarah Dodson.
Washington on the Brazos – Heath’s carpenter shop – Panel 11
Transcript of audio:
Heath’s shop was rented by Convention delegates contingent upon Heath putting a floor in the building. It seems implicit that Heath had separate lodging from the shop he rented to Gray and the delegates, likely nearby on his two-lot property.
Heath’s carpentry shop became the lodging for a distinguished group of Convention delegates the diarist William Fairfax Gay recounted on March 9, 1836: “I have made a bargain with Heath, the carpenter, for his shop. He is to put a good floor in it and rent it for $25 … Zavala, Navarro, Ruis, Badgett and myself are to occupy it and divide the cost equally. We shall then be retired, and comparatively comfortable, and I shall enjoy the benefit of an intercourse with Zavala, whose character and attainments interest me. He has kindly offered to give me lessons in Spanish, and I have already received several …”
Heath’s carpentry shop may have played host to another distinguished tenant. Secretary of State Anson Jones, serving under President Sam Houston, had his office in “an old wood shop which by the carpenters had been reconstructed into a very respectable one-story building and large and roomy enough to transact all the business of the then young republic.”
Washington County Soundwalk Experience > Washington on the Brazos