Calendar: History

Texas Independence Day

 Saturday, March 28th, 2026 :: 10:00am - 6:00pm
 23400 Park Road 12, Washington, Texas 77880
 Event Details

Celebrate 190 years of Texas Independence at the place Where Texas Became Texas! Experience everything you love about our annual Texas Independence Day Celebration, along with all our new renovations. Start with the opening ceremony and parade at 10:30am, followed by great performances at the Amphitheater and Barrington Living History Farm throughout the day. Enjoy demonstrations, activities, and scenes from the Convention of 1836 at the new Washington Townsite Experience. Tour the Star of the Republic Museum’s new amazing exhibits, including a special display of the Ark of the Covenant of the Texas Declaration of Independence, a box made from the original Independence Hall. Don’t forget to shop and eat at some of our wonderful vendors and food trucks! You won’t want to miss this fun-filled weekend!

Echoes of Independence – A Lantern Tour

 Friday, March 27th, 2026 :: 7:00pm - 8:00pm
 23400 Park Road, Washington, Texas 77880
 Event Details

The echoes of Texas Independence can still be heard in the town of Washington 190 years later. On this candlelit, lantern tour you will witness historic scenes surrounding the creation of a new nation! Meet David Crockett during his stay in Washington on his way to the Alamo. Speak with George C. Childress as he works on the Declaration of Independence. Watch the growing friendship of Lorenzo de Zavala and William Fairfax Gray and experience the drama and chaos of the Runaway Scrape. See all of this among the wonderful night time backdrop of the newly created Washington Townsite Experience. (Ticket information coming soon)

Blacksmithing

 Saturday, January 17th, 2026 :: 10:00am - 4:00pm
 Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site
 Event Details

Join us Saturday, January 17 as we fire up the forge! Watch blacksmithing demonstrations of nail and hardware making in the newly recreated blacksmith shop. Learn about local blacksmiths, and the types of work they would have done during the Republic and early Statehood periods. We hope you’ll join us and experience the sounds, smells, and hot metal first hand!

Butchering and Curing

 Saturday, January 10th, 2026 :: 10:00am - 4:00pm
 Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site
 Event Details

Butchering livestock was a very necessary way of life in the mid-19th century. Their main source of meat, pork, has been preserved by drying, salting and smoking for centuries. Join us for our annual butchering and curing weekend, where we will be butchering a hog on Saturday and beginning the curing process on Sunday.