Washington County
Washington, Washington County, Texas
Marker Inscription
To the memory of those courageous souls, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention held here March 1-17, 1836 who declared Texas free, organized a Republic, and framed its constitution Jessie B. Badgett; Dr. George Washington Barnett; Thomas Barnett; Stephen William Blount; John White Bower; Asa Brigham; Andrew Briscoe; John Wheeler Bunton; John S.D. Byrom; Mathew Caldwell; Samuel Price Carson; George Campbell Childress; William Clark, Jr.; Robert M. Coleman; James Collingsworth; Edward Conrad; William Carroll Crawford; Richard Ellis; Dr. Stephen Hendrickson Everitt; John Fisher; Samuel Rhoades Fisher; James Gaines; Dr. Thomas Jefferson Gazley; Benjamin Briggs Goodrich; Jesse Grimes; Robert Hamilton; Bailey Hardeman; Augustine Blackburn Hardin; Samuel Houston; William Demetris Lacey; Albert Hamilton Latimer; Edward Oswald Legrand; Samuel Augustus Maverick; Collin McKinney; Michel Branamour Menard; William Menefee; John W. Moore; Dr. Junius William Mottley; Jose Antonio Navarro; Martin Parmer; Sydney Oswald Pennington; Robert Potter; James Power; John S. Roberts; Sterling Clack Robertson; Francisco Ruiz; Thomas Jefferson Rusk; William Bennett Scates; George Washington Smyth; Elijah Stapp; Dr. Charles Bellinger Stewart; James Gibson Swisher; Charles Standfield Taylor; David Thomas; John Turner; Edwin Waller; Claiborne West; James B. Woods; Dr. Lorenzo De Zavala May these names be engraved on the hearts of all Texans
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On this ground at Washington-on-the-Brazos, delegates gathered from March 1 to 17, 1836, to declare Texas independent, organize a republic, and frame its constitution—even as Santa Anna's army closed in on the Alamo. The marker inscribes the names of all the signers, from Sam Houston and Lorenzo de Zavala to Tejano leaders José Antonio Navarro and Francisco Ruiz, calling on Texans to keep their memory engraved on their hearts.
Why it matters
Washington-on-the-Brazos is the birthplace of the Republic of Texas, where a diverse convention founded a nation that would ultimately reshape the map of the United States.
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Related people
- · Sam Houston
- · José Antonio Navarro
- · Lorenzo De Zavala
- · George Campbell Childress
- · Francisco Ruiz
Related events
- · Convention of 1836
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Washington-on-the-Brazos
Washington-on-the-Brazos, TX
This village on the Brazos River began in 1822 as a ferry crossing on the historic La Bahia Road and became the birthplace of the Texas nation: here, in an unfinished building owned by a gunsmith, delegates signed the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836. As Santa Anna's army advanced, the provisional government fled and townspeople joined the panicked "Runaway Scrape." After San Jacinto secured independence, Washington served again as capital from 1842 to 1845 and later became a state park preserving "Barrington," home of Anson Jones, the Republic's last president.
George Campbell Childress Statue
Washington, TX
Born in Nashville in 1804, George Campbell Childress came to Texas in 1835 after helping raise funds and volunteers for the Texas cause. As a delegate to the 1836 Constitutional Convention held at Washington-on-the-Brazos, he chaired the Committee of Five that drafted the Texas Declaration of Independence, and he was soon dispatched to Washington to seek U.S. recognition of the new republic. He died in Galveston in 1841.
Andrew Robinson Sr.
Washington, TX
Andrew Robinson Sr. was the first of Stephen F. Austin's "Old 300" colonists to reach Texas, arriving in November 1821 with his family and later receiving title to over 9,000 acres. He co-founded the town of Washington, ran a ferry at the La Bahia Crossing, and kept a hotel and saloon. In 1835 he fought at the Battle of Gonzales, where his unit carried the original Lone Star flag sewn by Sarah Dodson.
Asa Brigham
Washington, TX
Born in Massachusetts in 1790, Asa Brigham became a leading figure in Texas's fight for nationhood, serving as alcalde of the Brazoria municipality in 1835 and signing the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836. He went on to serve the young Republic as auditor and, for most of its existence, as treasurer. He died in 1844 at Washington, the town where independence had been declared.