Barrington's Living History Farm

There is a lot to see here at Washington-on-the-Brazos and our next stop was Barrington Living History Farm.

Dr. Anson Jones was the owner of Barrington Farm named after his native town in Massachusetts. He was also active in the Republic of Texas as a doctor, congressmen, minister to the U.S., senator, secretary of state, and served as the final president of the Republic before it became the 28th state of the Union in 1845.  He was married to Mary Smith McCrory in 1840 and moved to Barrington Farm after his inauguration with his wife Mary, their 4 children, his sister, Mary's four half-sisters, and the slaves.

The home is the original structure built in 1844 and moved to the Historic Site in 1036. The outbuildings were recreated from typical Texas architecture of the times as well as noted in Dr. Anson's journals.

There were two costumed interpreters, one in the house and one in the barn. The bed is stuffed with cornstalks and very lumpy.

The dining room was probably used mostly in the cold months with the family eating outside while it was warm.

The second bedroom was for Dr. Anson' sister who also taught the children their lessons.

The children, except for the two youngest who slept in their parent's room, slept in dormitories upstairs which were reached by some very steep stairs.

The parlor was the most formal room in the house used for company, as a library, and as an office.

The kitchen where all the food was cooked by the cook, was detached from the house both to keep the house cooler and as a safety measure. The cook had to carry everything in to the house.

The interpreters actually fix a meal in here on the weekends and can attest to the fact that it is uncomfortably hot in the summer.

The smokehouse was used both to smoke the meat and to store other food items during the rest of the year.

There was a chicken coop and some very large chickens as well.

This was known as a double crib barn and has an open area between the two buildings just like the house.

There was also another chicken pen at the rear of the barn.

This was one of two slave cabins with the hog pen in the background.

It was a one room cabin which included sleeping quarters as well as eating and cooking areas.

We headed back down the highway and across Lake Conroe late in the afternoon.

This was my last day with Deb but she will be staying in the area another week.