More than 10,000 artifacts found at the ‘Birthplace of Texas’ reveal new insights into the abandoned 19th century town where Davey Crockett stayed during his famous trip to the Alamo
Artifacts found at the ‘Birthplace of Texas’ have revealed new insights into the abandoned town that was home to a thousand people in 1835.
Archaeologists from Texas A&M University have discovered more than 10,000 artifacts along the Brazos River in Washington, telling the story of life as an early Texan shortly after the state gained independence from Mexico in 1836.
Excavations have uncovered the base of a brick fireplace, marking the spot where a tavern once stood, providing food and a room for travelers – most notably Davey Crockett, who spent two days in the city before his famous trip to the Alamo .
Items such as nails, knives, glass and ceramics, along with traces of a log cabin used as Sam Houston’s presidential office, were also discovered and paw prints of long-forgotten pets that roamed the streets.
Archaeologists from Texas A&M University have discovered more than 10,000 artifacts in Washington, founded around 1835, that tell the story of life as an early Texan.
Excavations have uncovered the base of a brick fireplace, marking the site where a tavern once stood, providing travelers with food and a room
Jonathan Failor, university alumni and site manager, told DailyMail.com: ‘The town site is previously known and has been a protected historic site since 1916.
‘The recent archeology project gives us new insights into the city that were previously unknown.’
Failor and his team discovered coins from the inn’s ruins, including an 1831 dime and a Spanish silver coin from 1820 depicting King Ferdinand VII, who ruled Spain in the early 19th century.
Before the city was officially formed, it was known as the place where the Labahia Road crossed the Brazos River.
“The road, which connected Mexico and the US, and the coins are a nice way to draw a parallel between the two,” Failor told DailyMail.com.
βYou can imagine those coins traveling and meeting (at the inn).β
Artifacts found at the ‘birthplace of Texas’ have revealed new insights into the abandoned city where a thousand people lived more than 200 years ago
A few knives were discovered on city property. The top is a folding knife and the bottom is a blade with the handle missing
Objects such as nails, glass and ceramics were also uncovered
The team found a garbage dump at the site, revealing even more of the city’s secrets. The artifacts include a pig jawbone and an ironstone dish, which provided a glimpse into the food eaten by the early settlers
The excavations also uncovered the largely intact brick floor of a structure built around the late 1830s. This floor will be exposed when the building around it is recreated during renovation work.
Failor explained that the brick floor tells the story of two buildings, the first of which was an early warehouse that was later converted into a two-story building in 1854.
βThere are layers of history at that location,β he said.
The team also found a garbage dump at the site, revealing even more of the city’s secrets.
The artifacts included a pig jawbone and an ironstone dish, which provided a glimpse into the food eaten by the early settlers.
A horn comb and several knives were also found on the abandoned city site.
The “Birthplace of Texas” is undergoing a $51 million renovation to give modern visitors a more complete view of the city and how it fits into Texas’ early history.
The team saw a cat paw print at the scene
Failor (pictured) explained that the brick floor (pictured) tells the story of two buildings, the first of which was an early warehouse that was later converted into a two-story building in 1854.
Pictured is one of the few surviving images of the city, showing a drugstore
The “Birthplace of Texas” is undergoing a $51 million renovation to give modern visitors a more complete view of the city and how it fits into Texas’ early history. The photo shows a horned comb, found during excavations
Renovation work is expected to be completed by mid-2025 with full renovations of the newly discovered Houston tavern and log cabin office, which was originally a family home built by early settlers.
Washington-on-the-Brazos, officially called Washington, is located in the upper northeastern corner of what is now Washington County and was an important political and commercial center in early Texas.
About 300 families settled in the city in 1821, when Texas was still part of Mexico.
Davy Crockett spent two days in the city before making his famous trip to the Alamo
Over the next decade, more settlers moved into the city; the city was renamed Washington, after a place in Georgia.
Texas saw a growing influx of American settlers shortly after Washington was formed, leading to skirmishes with Mexico.
However, the Texas Revolution fought from October 1835 to April 1836 resulted in the state gaining its independence.
Houston signed the Texas Declaration of Independence and led his troops to victory at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836.
Around the same time, Washington had established itself as a supply point for weary travelers who sat at the inn, visited a nearby pharmacy, and purchased goods at various stores along the dirt roads.
In many ways, Failor said in the press release, the real story is less about what’s left and more about what’s not.
He and his team plan to build a representation of the buildings and the discoveries made will help them put the missing pieces together.
Failor told DailyMail.com that the town was abandoned after locals opposed the construction of the railway in the 1850s.
βThe townspeople were heavily dependent on the river and wanted to put their investments into ferries and steamboats,β he said.
βWe can speculate that if they had said yes to the railroad, the historic might not exist today.β