WASHINGTON CO. COMMISSIONERS APPROVE HISTORICAL MARKER RECOGNIZING SAM HOUSTON SPEECH

  

A famous speech from Sam Houston will be commemorated at the Washington County Courthouse.

Washington County Commissioners on Tuesday gave the Washington County Historical Commission (WCHC) permission to place a permanent Texas Historical Marker on the courthouse lawn.

WCHC Chair Tom Stevens said the marker will call back to March 31, 1861, when Sam Houston spoke at the courthouse following Texas’ secession from the Union.  Houston had recently been deposed by the legislature because he refused to take the oath of allegiance to the new Confederate government, and he was requested to speak to explain the reasons for his refusal.

Stevens said the WCHC’s application to the Texas Historical Commission was approved, but authority was needed from the county as the property owner.  The marker will go up once renovations on the courthouse square are completed next year. 

Arrangements are underway for the speech to be a part of the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street exhibits that are coming to Brenham this winter.  Stevens said City of Brenham Tourism and Marketing Director Jennifer Eckermann wants the Historical Commission to put together a historical reenactment of the speech that will play at the Simon Theatre in January.

Commissioners thanked Stevens and the WCHC for their work on this project.  Commissioner Kirk Hanath said the freedom of speech is one of the pinnacles of the U.S. Constitution and appreciates the WCHC recognizing this.  Commissioner Candice Bullock said this not only acknowledges the importance of the First Amendment, but “a huge moment” in the history of both Washington County and the State of Texas.