What made this stop a great one was that this park was actually a three-fer! Besides the building at Washington-on-the-Brazos there was the Barrington Living History Farm, and the Star of the Republic Museum. we next went to the farm as the skies were threatening and we figured to get inside the museum before it rained.
The farm was not large or at least the part you could tour. There were several acres where they were raising cattle and Longhorns. But the action was around the farmyard. The house once belonged to Anson Jones who was the last President of the Republic of Texas. Although the house was the original it had been moved to the park from nearby.
Anson Jones was a doctor by trade but once he moved here he took no more patients and began farming. He owned the place for thirteen years from the mid 1840’s until his death in 1858. we toured the barn, and slave quarters first.
Then the house…… Anson Jones owned about 34 different slaves over his time in Texas (he was from Massachusetts), but not over 6 or 7 at a single time. He kept a couple house maids and a few field hands.
We then found the kitchen out back and three women were cooking 1850 style making sweets for the 1850 style 4th of July celebration they were having the next day. We talked to them for a bit and stupid me took no pictures! We made it to the Star of the Republic museum before the rain and toured that facility run by Blinn College from nearby Brenham Texas.
We learned some new stuff on this trip!
Old Man Wandering 