WASHINGTON COUNTY, TEXAS—Newsweek reports that an excavation conducted on the banks of the Brazos River in southeastern Texas has uncovered more than 10,000 artifacts from Washington-on-the-Brazos, the town where the Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico was signed on March 2, 1836. The document was signed by 59 delegates, including Sam Houston, who became president of the Republic of Texas. Houston moved the capital of the republic to Washington-on-the-Brazos in 1842. The excavation has unearthed traces of the log cabin that served as Houston’s presidential office; a tavern’s brick fireplace and several coins; and several pieces of glass, ceramic, and nails. Texas joined the United States in 1845. The state plans to reconstruct republic-era buildings that will showcase archaeological features of the town. To read about excavations of a nineteenth-century ranch in the southern High Plains, go to "Letter from Texas: On the Range."
