Hardin-Concord Road

Duane's take

Here's the story as the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna let that old road do the talking. You're listening to Duane, and this one comes straight off a Hardin County marker. The Hardin-Concord Road.

Even the name sounds like it's got somewhere to be. This roadway was in use from 1859 to about 1900, and in that stretch of time it carried wagon wheels and horseback riders through a part of East Texas that was still figuring out what it wanted to be. Now, think about what that means for a moment.

Every sack of goods, every piece of news, every soul moving between early settlements in this corner of the state, a good number of them passed along this very course. To the southeast, down on Pine Island Bayou, sat Concord. And Concord wasn't just a dot on a map.

It marked the southern limit for steamboat traffic on the Neches River. That's where the river gave up the wheel, so to speak, and the road had to take over. Up to the northwest was Hardin, the first Hardin County seat, holding that distinction from 1858 to 1887.

So this road didn't just connect two towns. It connected two whole worlds of travel, the waterway and the overland, stitching them together right here in the piney woods. Now here's the part that gets me.

Much of that old road can still be traced today. It didn't vanish entirely. But right at this spot, development has obscured it from view, and modern U.S.

Highway 69 crosses its course. The new road swallowed the old one without so much as a tip of the hat. Still, the Hardin-Concord Road is remembered for its contributions to local transportation and commerce, and that's no small thing.

Some roads just carry you from here to there. This one carried a whole county forward.

What the marker says

In use from 1859 to about 1900, this historic roadway is one of the oldest area landmarks. It accommodated wagon and horseback travel between early settlements and provided connection between river voyages. Concord, to the southeast on Pine Island Bayou, was the southern limit for steamboat traffic on the Neches River. Hardin, to the northwest, was the first Hardin county seat from 1858 to 1887. Much of the old road can be traced today, a reminder of 19th century overland and waterway travel. Although development has obscured it from view at this point, modern U.S. Highway 69 crosses its course here. Today the historic road is remembered for its contributions to local transportation and commerce. (1971, 2011)