Christmas on the Brazos

Start the holiday season by spending the day in Washington, Texas.  From 10 AM to 8 PM, modern and historic activities will be staggered throughout the park.   Daytime activities will be concentrated at Independence Hall, the Star of the Republic Museum and the Visitor’s Center.   At 5 PM, activities will shift to Barrington Living History Farm for the evening event, Candlelight Christmas, which will be held from 5 PM to 9 PM (last tickets sold at 8 PM).    In addition to the standard entry fee, an activity fee of $2 per person, for those 3 years and up, will be charged for the evening program.  Standard park admission fees will apply to the daytime activities.

The Candlelight Christmas event will feature timed vignettes or glimpses into 1850s festivities through a candlelit tour of Barrington Farm. The event will include live 19^th century music and dancing, bonfires and Christmas readings, 1850s Santa Claus, musket firing, cookies and hot cider.  Please allow at least one hour to complete the full experience.  Groups will enter the site at timed intervals.

 When you enter the Candlelight Christmas event expect your senses to be filled with the sights and sounds and maybe even the smells of yesteryear. Wood smoke swirls in the cool, dark December air.  Pops and crackles of a distant fire fill the quiet night while its dancing flames cast a warm glow upon a split rail fence and the dewy grass below.  As you follow a column of flickering lanterns into the Texas night a flash of light catches your eye and the dark erupts with gunfire and cheers.  You have stumbled across a rowdy band of Texian revelers who welcome you to 1850. Walk the candlelit paths at Barrington Farm and experience a Texas Christmas in the decade before the Civil War.  Learn the origins of some of our favorite holiday traditions as costumed interpreters bring to life the festivities of the season with musket-fire, music, dancing and more!  Tour the historic home of the last president of the Republic, Dr. Anson Jones, as the family enjoys their Christmas gathering.  Visit the farm’s quarters to hear how the enslaved at Barrington celebrated the season.  Sip a hot cup of cider, cozy up to the fire and begin your holiday season with Texas State Parks!

“Christmas on the Brazos” will be held Saturday, December 14^th, at Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historical Park off Highway 105 between Navasota and Brenham on FM 1155. 

• Reservations not required. 
• Please dress appropriately for the season and be prepared for the weather as the event will take place in an 1850s period setting with some events outdoors.
• Leashed pets allowed in park, but NOT ALLOWED onto farm site or inside buildings.
• Sites are accessible for the mobility impaired.
• For additional details call (936) 878-2214 ext 246, ask for Jon or Jessica.