Harkeyville

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it — and Harkeyville, friends, is one worth tellin'. Now picture San Saba County, sometime around 1855. A family is on the move — not a small one, mind you.

Mathias and Catherine Harkey are pulling up roots in Arkansas and heading into Texas, led by two of their sons: Riley Harkey, born 1832, and Israel Harkey, born 1835. Those two boys hadn't just been sitting around waiting for the trip. Back in 1850 through 1853, they'd been riding as Indian scouts in Texas.

They knew this land. And what they knew, apparently, they liked — because they came back and brought the whole family with them. Adult sons, daughters, in-laws, grandchildren.

The whole magnificent, sprawling Harkey operation. They ranched. Mathias ran a country store for many years.

And the village that grew up around them took on the family name: Harkeyville. But here is where the story gets its particular shine. Riley Harkey brought something with him out of Arkansas — a fine, fleet-footed mare.

Now, the marker doesn't give her a name, so we won't invent one. But she didn't need a name to make her mark. That mare, and her racing progeny, drew crowds of enthusiasts to this site for half a century.

Other sons and grandsons of Mathias Harkey joined in — breeding, training, racing. Harkeyville became famous for its horses and its racetrack. Famous enough that a single flat stretch of ground outside a town with no post office was known across the region.

And about that — no post office. Didn't matter. The village was so well known that mail addressed simply to Harkeyville promptly arrived.

You can't buy that kind of reputation. You earn it, apparently, with fast horses and a whole lot of Harkeys. The town had stores, a blacksmith shop, other businesses, all of them facing east on a single street, overlooking that flat with its racetrack and its baseball diamond.

On November 26, 1873, a man named George W. Barnett — born 1823, died 1885 — gave land for the first school. The schoolhouse pulled double duty, serving also for church services and public meetings, the way a good building in a small town always does.

Now, nothing lasts forever, and Harkeyville was no exception. The racetrack closed in 1907. The cotton gin burned in 1920 and was not rebuilt.

The school consolidated with San Saba in 1929. And the last store closed in 1954. One by one, the lights went out.

But here's what I'll leave you with. In 1973, the community built a hall right there on the site of the old town. A community hall, raised by people who remembered — or who'd heard the stories — of a place that was once so well known a letter could find it without a post office, a place where a fleet-footed mare and her descendants drew crowds for fifty years.

Harkeyville may be gone, but it isn't forgotten. The marker, and the hall, and the story see to that.

What the marker says

A site once famous for its horses and racetrack. Riley Harkey (1832-1920) and Israel Harkey (1835-1914) were Indian scouts in Texas in 1850-53. In 1855 they led their parents, Mathias and Catherine Harkey, to move here from Arkansas with other adult sons, daughters, in-laws and grandchildren. The families ranched, and Mathias Harkey ran a country store for many years. Riley Harkey brought to Texas a fine, fleet footed mare, who with her racing progeny drew crowds of enthusiasts to this site for half a century. Other sons and grandsons of Mathias Harkey also joined in the breeding, training, and racing of horses. Stores, blacksmith shop, and other businesses all faced east on a single street overlooking the flat with its racetrack and baseball diamond. There was no post office, but the village was so well known that mail addressed to Harkeyville promptly arrived here. On Nov. 26, 1873, George W. Barnett (1823-1885) gave land for the first school; the schoolhouse was used also for church services and public meetings. The racetrack closed in 1907; the cotton gin burned in 1920, and was not rebuilt; school consolidated in 1929 with San Saba. The last store closed in 1954. A community hall, built 1973, marks site of the town.