1st Congress of the Republic of Texas
The First Congress of the Republic of Texas, consisting of the Senate of the Republic of Texas and House of Representatives of the Republic of Texas, met in Columbia at two separate buildings (one for each chamber) and then in Houston at the present-day site of The Rice from October 3, 1836, to June 13, 1837, during the first year of Sam Houston's presidency.
| 1st Congress of the Republic of Texas | |||||
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The building that housed the House of Representatives of the Republic of Texas in Columbia (shown c. 1897) | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | Congress of the Republic of Texas | ||||
| Jurisdiction | Republic of Texas | ||||
| Meeting place | Columbia and Houston | ||||
| Term | October 3, 1836 – June 13, 1837 | ||||
| House of Representatives | |||||
| Members | 31 Representatives | ||||
| House Speaker | Ira Ingram (1st session) Branch T. Archer (2nd session) | ||||
| Senate | |||||
| Members | 14 Senators | ||||
| Senate President | Mirabeau Lamar | ||||
| Senate President pro tem. | Richard Ellis (1st session) Jesse Grimes (2nd session) | ||||
| Sessions | |||||
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All members of Congress were officially non-partisan. According to the Constitution of the Republic of Texas of 1836, each member of the House of Representatives was elected for a term of one year. Each county was guaranteed at least one representative.
Each Senator was elected for a three-year term to represent a district that each had a nearly equal portion of the nation's population. Each district could have no more than one Senator.