WARREN, TEXAS (Washington County). Warren, a Brazos River port, was on a high cliff just below the junction of New Year's Creek with the Brazos River, three miles east of Chappell Hill and two miles above Washington-on-the-Brazos in eastern Washington County. It was named for the man who owned the site and was one of the earliest settlements in Washington County. The settlement existed by 1839. In addition to the Warren ferry, steamboats stimulated the local economy. Shipment of cotton to Galveston and Velasco sustained moderate economic growth as the town grew to include an inn, warehouses, and a blacksmith shop. The steamboat Nick Hill stopped at Warren in 1854 and the Magnolia in 1853. Warren's growth was limited by a shallow bend two miles above town, where the sternwheeler Fort Henry snagged in 1855. When the Washington County Railroad crossed the Brazos in 1859 Warren declined rapidly and disappeared. The land, which had been divided into town lots, reverted to the original owner. No remains of Warren exist.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Mrs. R. E. Pennington, History of Brenham and Washington County (Houston, 1915). Pamela A. Puryear and Nath Winfield, Jr., Sandbars and Sternwheelers: Steam Navigation on the Brazos (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1976). Washington County Scrapbook, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin.

Carole E. Christian