by Ariel Peña
Mine it was,
as the elder sister,
the right, since founding,
to be what she is.
It was I who bore this state’s first railway.
It was I who fought to secure our right to be.
It was I, not Her.
So why was I the one,
To be forgotten,
To cease to be,
To be rendered a dim stud on Her crown.
Why Houston, and not me,
Harrisburg.
Photo courtesy of Ken E. Stavinoha.
Why indeed? No one at the time of founding would guess that the runner up town of Houston would supersede the notable town of Harrisburg. However, such was the fate of Harrisburg; a promising town with enormous potential became just another acquisition of the younger, more accomplished neighboring city of Houston. Harrisburg once stood poised for greatness with its strategic positioning that complemented trade and commerce, its role as a nexus for burgeoning industries, and its pivotal part in early Texan history. Nevertheless, Houston ultimately emerged as the Lone Star State’s prominent metropolis.
Founding
Anglo Americans who sought opportunities to build their wealth and legacies founded both towns early in the settlement of the land that later became known as Texas. Moses Austin negotiated a deal with the new Spanish government to become the first Anglo American empresario in the territory of Texas. However in 1821, he died of pneumonia in Missouri, and, on his deathbed, he asked his son to fulfill his vision in Texas. Stephen Fuller Austin finalized the deal with the newly established Mexican government.
On August 16, 1824, the Mexican government granted John Richardson Harris land, adding him to the original Old Three Hundred of Texas, which were actually 297 grantees of 307 parcels of land in the territory of Mexican Texas. Upon this land, situated along the meandering Buffalo Bayou, Harris established the Town of Harrisburg in 1826, christened after his family and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
With this act, Harris imbued his fledgling community with a sense of legacy. Harrisburg emerged as a beacon of promise on the Texas frontier, and Harris became emblematic of the potential opportunities by how he ran his burgeoning metropolis. He wore many hats in his town: founder, businessperson, and even judge – holding court in his own home. However, favor soon left both him and the town that bore his name. Harris traveled to New Orleans aboard his ship, Rights of Man, to acquire materials to build the first sawmill in Texas. While there, a yellow fever outbreak hit the city and took the life of John Richardson Harris on August 21, 1829. Many of his affairs were left in a state of disorder, chief among them was the deed to Harrisburg.
Harrisburg’s Potential Cut Short, Once
Disarray and confusion describe the state of Harrisburg and Texas during this time. The Mexican government’s abolishment of slavery and increased centralization did not sit well with the Texians, Anglo Americans living in Texas. Moreover, the Tejanos, Mexicans living in Texas, were fewer in number and influence; yet they held citizenship and rights that the American immigrants did not. Everything culminated in 1835 with the Texas Revolution.
In the midst of the revolution, Harrisburg was strategically situated and served as the capital and seat for the provisional government of the new Republic of Texas. Thinking that General Sam Houston resided in Harrisburg with his army, Mexican leader Antonio López de Santa Ana burned Harrisburg to the ground on April 16, 1836. The Texas government had fled for safety just hours earlier. Soon after, the Texas Revolution ended on May 14, 1836, when Santa Ana signed the Treaties of Velasco, which assured Texas’s victory and the full surrender and retreat of Mexican forces. Harrisburg’s role in the struggle for independence was cemented alongside the birth of this new republic; however, Harrisburg did not see its title of capital returned to it, as a newer, unscarred town rose up alongside it.
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