Varner heard of Stephen F. Austin's colony on the Brazos River, and he went to see him, signing with the Old Three Hundred.
His Brazoria County property was located outside of what is now West Columbia, at what is now known as the Varner–Hogg Plantation State Historical Site.
Varner raised sugar cane on the property, and built a rum distillery there.
He later joined his family in Lamar County, where he bought 1,700 acres (6.9 km2) near Fort Lyday.
He used the money from the sale of his plantation in Brazoria County to buy up the lands of other San Jacinto veterans.