The small town of Washington-on-the-Brazos is considered the birthplace of Texas. Delegates from across Texas gathered here in an unfinished storage building in March, 1836 and declared independence from Mexico as Santa Ana’s army besieged the Alamo.
Despite this early fame, the town no longer exists. A railroad bypassed it in favour of nearby Navasota in 1850 and this, coupled with the Civil War saw the town decline to nothing by the end of the 19th century.