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Barrett is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) in eastern Harris County, just south of U.S. Highway 90 near Crosby, and one of Texas's historic African American freedom colonies.

The community was founded by Harrison Barrett, known as 'Uncle Harrison,' a man born into slavery in Texas around 1845 who, after emancipation, spent years reuniting family members who had been separated under slavery.

In 1889 Barrett purchased the land for his settlement for fifty cents an acre, creating one of the largest landholdings in Harris County ever acquired by a former slave.

Barrett helped build the settlement's first seven houses with lumber from his own land, set up farms for his family, and established a sawmill, a gristmill, and a coffee mill.

Harrison Barrett donated land for Shiloh Baptist Church, which also served as the community's school, and his homestead — twice rebuilt by descendants — is registered in the Texas Family Land Heritage Program as a Texas Century Farm.

The community is also known as Barrett Station, after the post office branch and high school that opened there in 1947.

Harrison Barrett died in 1917 and is buried in Journey's End Cemetery in the settlement he founded; a museum and a park in the community are named in his honor.

In 2025 the Texas House of Representatives formally commemorated the 150th anniversary of Barrett at the community's Founders Day celebration.

Barrett's population more than doubled in a decade of Houston-area growth, reaching 5,223 residents in the 2020 census, up from 3,199 in 2010.

Barrett is served by the Crosby Independent School District; Barrett Elementary School, opened in 1991, is famous locally for the roughly 183-year-old 'Guardian Oak' tree standing behind the campus.