General Public Tours
Life on the Farm
Timing: Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Cost: Families $20, adults $8, seniors, veterans, teachers, first responders $7, children $5, ages 5 and under free
Experience the sights, sounds, and smells of life on a working farm during a self-guided visit to Barrington Plantation. Interpretive staff may be tending the garden, caring for the livestock, or maintaining the historic property and are available to answer questions.
Here a Nation Was Born
Capacity: 20–200 people
Timing: 45 minutes, Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m.
Site: Independence Hall and Washington Townsite
Cost: Families $20, adults $8, seniors, veterans, teachers, first responders $7, children $5, ages 5 and under free
With a guided tour of Independence Hall, visitors will learn about the beginnings of the Republic of Texas, the Convention for Independence of 1836, and the Texas Declaration of Independence.
School Tours
A Mile in Their Shoes
Grades: Pre-K–12
Capacity: 20–200 students
Timing: 1.5–2 hours, Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Site: Barrington Plantation
Cost: $2 per student. One chaperone for every 10 students is free; additional adults are $8 per person.
If you were alive over 150 years ago, what might your life have been like? Students will explore the differing roles and tasks expected of both children and adults, enslaved and free, working at a plantation like Barrington in the 1850s.
Self-Guided Townsite Trail Time
Grades: Pre-K–12
Capacity: 20 or more students
Timing: 45 minutes, Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Site: Washington Townsite
Cost: free
What did the town of Washington look like in the 1830s and 1840s? What happened to it since then? This self-guided tour option adds another dimension to a visit to Washington-on-the-Brazos, where Texas became Texas.
Walking in the Footsteps of History
Grades: Pre-K–3
Capacity: 20–40 students per hour
Timing: 1 hour, Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Site: Washington Townsite
Cost: $2 per student. One chaperone for every 10 students is free; additional adults are $8 per person.
Join us for a walk through history along the Brazos River where the nation of Texas was born in the historic town of Washington. Learn about the creation of this once-great Texas city, the site where Texas declared independence, and the location of the last capital of the Republic of Texas.
What Would Sallie See?
Grades: Pre-K–3
Capacity: 20–200 students
Timing: 1.5–2 hours, Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Site: Barrington Plantation
Cost: $2 per student. One chaperone for every 10 students is free; additional adults are $8 per person.
Sarah Sophia “Sallie” Jones was 5 years old in 1850. What might she have experienced as she went through her day? Students will learn about early Texas farms and farm animals, and will play period yard games such as graces and trundling a hoop. This tour will also include age-appropriate introductions to the topics of food production and slavery.
A Call to Arms!
Grades: 3-6
Capacity: 20–30 students
Timing: 1 hour, Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Site: Independence Hall
Cost: $2 per student. One chaperone for every 10 students is free; additional adults are $8 per person.
The students assume the roles of citizens from the town of Washington that joined the Texas army in 1836, utilizing primary source documents and roleplay to learn about the founding of the Republic of Texas.
Field Work and Free Time
Grades: 4–6
Capacity: 20–200 students
Timing: 1.5–2 hours, Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Site: Barrington Plantation
Cost: $2 per student. One chaperone for every 10 students is free; additional adults are $8 per person.
Students will understand the contrasting realities of upper middle-class children, like Sam and Charlie Jones, and enslaved individuals, like Mary and Jerry, in 1850s Texas. Half of the time will be devoted to fun around the Jones home, and the other half allotted to the common farming tasks of those enslaved.
Courage, Convention, and Constitution: The Birth of Texas
Grades: 4–12
Capacity: 20–40 students per hour
Timing: 1 hour, Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Site: Independence Hall
Cost: $2 per student. One chaperone for every 10 students is free; additional adults are $8 per person.
Students will discover the role of Washington and the Convention of 1836 in the birth of Texas during a guided experience using stories and questioning. They will also visit the replica of Independence Hall, where the 59 delegates met and drafted the Texas Declaration of Independence.
From Can See to Can’t See
Grades: 7–9
Capacity: 20–200 students
Timing: 1.5–2 hours, Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Site: Barrington Plantation
Cost: $2 per student. One chaperone for every 10 students is free; additional adults are $8 per person.
What made this 1850s plantation run like a machine from sun-up to sun-down? Students will explore how the Jones family developed Barrington as a comfortable home, while also gaining a perspective of the cost of those enslaved who built and sustained it.
Prosperity and Prejudice
Grades: 10–12
Capacity: 20–200 students
Timing: 1.5–2 hours, Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Site: Barrington Plantation
Cost: $2 per student. One chaperone for every 10 students is free; additional adults are $8 per person.
Anson Jones, former president of the Republic of Texas, sought to negotiate a favorable annexation of Texas to the United States and fulfill his vision of freedom and prosperity for its citizens. In contradiction to his goal of freedom, he also took advantage of the enslaved labor system. Students will explore how his choices as president still affect our lives today, as well as how those enslaved coped with the inequity of slavery and prejudice.
Adult Group Tours
Life on the Farm
Capacity: 20–200 people
Timing: 1 hour, Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Site: Barrington
Cost: $6 per person
Visitors will have an opportunity to experience life in early Texas with a guided tour of Barrington Plantation, home of Anson Jones, last president of the Republic of Texas. Discover the sights, sounds, and smells of life on a small 1850s cotton plantation while gaining a perspective of those enslaved who built and sustained it. Learn about farm tasks such as plowing, working oxen, cooking on an open hearth, or picking cotton. Life at Barrington changes with the seasons, so you will always find something new!
Here a Nation Was Born
Capacity: 20–40 people per hour
Timing: 1 hour, Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Site: Independence Hall and Washington Townsite
Cost: $6 per person
With a guided tour of Independence Hall, visitors will learn about the beginnings of the Republic of Texas, the Convention for Independence of 1836, and the Texas Declaration of Independence.
Tour Reservations
Group tour reservations should be made four weeks in advance by using the adult tour request form. School tour reservations should be made six weeks in advance by using this tour request form.
Tours of Barrington, Washington-on-the-Brazos, and the Star of the Republic Museum (opening spring 2025) can be combined. The cost for one site is $2 per student, for two sites is $4 per student, and for all three sites is $5 per student. Tours for adults are $6.
Tours are on dirt paths and require the use of stairs. Please indicate the need for an accessibility ramp at the time of booking. Tours are outdoors and continue rain or shine. However, whenever thunder and lightning are present within eight miles, Barrington Plantation and Independence Hall will close until 30 minutes after the last episode of thunder or lightning. Alternate activities will be arranged by the education coordinator.
If your group is looking for a specialized tour experience, contact the site directly to inquire about customizing your tour.
Parking and Accessibility
The complex has ample parking at each site and the picnic area to include school buses, commercial buses, and RVs. Dedicated handicapped accessible spots are conveniently located near the entrance of each site.
Visitor Center/Museum Store
The Visitor Center is currently closed for renovation. Ticket Sales, Visitor Orientation and the Gift Shop are located in the temporary building in the Visitor Center Parking Lot.