WASHINGTON-ON-THE-BRAZOS STATE HISTORICAL PARK. Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historical Park is on Farm Road 1155 seven miles southwest of Navasota in Washington County. The 240.12-acre park occupies most of the site of the old town of Washington-on-the-Brazos, which served as last capital of the Republic of Texas.^qv The Texas Declaration of Independence^qv was signed at the site on March 2, 1836. Little is left of the town, which was largely abandoned by the turn of the century. The legislature appropriated funds to purchase about fifty acres of the old townsite in 1916 and subsequently erected a replica of the hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed. In 1936 the state acquired additional land, built an amphitheater, and moved the home Anson Jones^qv built at his Barrington^qv plantation to the site. In 1955 a number of local people formed the Washington-on-the-Brazos State Park Association, which has raised money for numerous improvements, including a better replica of the Independence Hall. Facilities at the park include picnicking areas, restrooms, and the Star of the Republic Museum,^qv which is staffed by Blinn College of Brenham.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Ray Miller, Texas Parks (Houston: Cordovan, 1984).

Christopher Long