BRENHAM

brenham, a city and the county-seat of washington county, texas, u.s.a., situated in the s.e. part of the state, about 68 m. n.w. of houston. pop. (1890) 5209; (1900) 5968, including 2701 negroes and 531 foreign-born; (1910) 4718. brenham is served by the gulf, colorado & santa fe (controlled by the atchison, topeka & santa fe) and the houston & texas central railways. it is the seat of blinn memorial college (german methodist episcopal), opened as "mission institute" in 1883, and renamed in 1889 in honour of the rev. christian blinn, of new york, a liberal benefactor; of brenham evangelical lutheran college, and of a german-american institute (1898). the municipality owns and operates the waterworks. the city is situated in an agricultural and cotton-raising region, and has cotton compresses and gins, cotton mills, cotton-seed oil refineries, foundries and machine shops, and furniture and wagon factories. brenham was settled about 1844, was incorporated in 1866, and was chartered as a city in 1873.