DUANE
Duane's take
The way I tell it, I'm drawing straight from the official marker on Old Harrisburg — so let's set the record straight on one of the most eventful patches of ground in all of Texas. Picture the year 1823. A man named John R.
Harris shows up on the banks of Buffalo Bayou and plants his flag — figuratively speaking — as the first settler on the site. Three years later, in 1826, he founds the town of Harrisburg, and that place gets moving fast. We're talking an early Texas port and trading post, home to the state's first steam saw mill, grist mill, and railroad terminal.
Boats hauling cargo back and forth between Texas ports and points in the United States and Mexico. Back then, Texas was still part of Mexico, and those early colonies needed a shipping center — Harrisburg was it. Now, 1835 rolls around, and a local resident by the name of Mrs.
Sarah Dodson sews something right here in Harrisburg that Texas would carry for generations: the first tri-color lone star flag. Let that settle in for a second. Then comes 1836, and the whole Republic of Texas is hanging by a thread.
From March 22nd to April 13th of that year, Harrisburg becomes the seat of government of the Republic of Texas. David G. Burnet, President of the ad interim government, and several of his cabinet are residing nearby — in the home of Mrs.
Jane Harris, widow of the town's own founder. And right here, President Burnet adopts the flag for the Texas Navy. Of course, nothing that consequential goes unnoticed for long.
On April 16th, General Santa Anna comes marching in with 750 Mexican soldiers, intent on capturing Burnet and his cabinet. They were gone — but Santa Anna burned the whole town down. The whole town.
Now here's where the story turns. Texas gains its independence at nearby San Jacinto, and Harrisburg rises from the ashes. It thrives again.
In 1852, the Buffalo, Bayou, Brazos and Colorado — the first railroad in Texas — begins right here. By the time the Civil War arrives, Harrisburg has become a Confederate rail center. And then, in 1926 — a hundred years after John R.
Harris founded it — Harrisburg becomes a part of Houston by annexation. Born in 1823, seat of a republic, burned to the ground, rebuilt, and eventually folded into the city that now surrounds it. That's not a footnote in Texas history.
That's the spine of it.
What the marker says
Early Texas port and trading post. Site of state's first steam saw, grist mills and railroad terminal. Town founded, 1826, by John R. Harris, who was first settler in 1823. Became shipping center for early colonies, established when Texas was part of Mexico, with boats carrying cargo to and from Texas ports and points in the United States and Mexico. Became the seat of government of the Republic of Texas, March 22 - April 13, 1836, when David G. Burnet, President of the ad interim government and several of his cabinet resided near here in the home of Mrs. Jane Harris (site marked), widow of town founder. Here President Burnet adopted the flag for the Texas Navy. In 1835, local resident, Mrs. Sarah Dodson, had made here the first tri-color lone star flag. General Santa Anna attacked the town with 750 Mexican soldiers on April 16 attempting to capture Burnet and his cabinet. The whole town was burned. After Texas gained its independence at nearby San Jacinto, the town was rebuilt and again thrived. The Buffalo, Bayou, Brazos and Colorado, first railroad in Texas began here in 1852 and by the Civil War made the town a Confederate rail center. Became a part of Houston, by annexation, in 1926.