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Please add profiles of those who were born, lived or died in Harrison County, Texas.
Official Website
History
Settlement by immigrants from the United States (US) began during the 1830s in the territory of present-day Harrison County. In 1835, the Mexican authorities granted a dozen land grants to US immigrants. After the Texas Revolution, the Congress of the Texas Republic established Harrison County in 1839, formed from Shelby County. Harrison County was named for Texas revolutionary Jonas Harrison. The county was organized in 1842.
1870 was the period of the most lynchings of blacks throughout the South. Harrison County had a total of 14 such lynchings. Most were committed in the early 20th century, particularly in the 1910s when the county suffered economic hard times. Whites "did not lynch in lieu of ineffective courts, but instead demonstrated to the black majority that legal protection and rights were inaccessible to blacks". Blacks accused of violence against law enforcement or who were from outside the county were particularly at risk.
The Texas legislature disenfranchised most blacks in 1901 by requiring poll taxes and authorizing white primaries (after various iterations, the latter were overturned by a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1944). This disenfranchisement extended into the late 1960s, until after national civil rights legislation was passed to enforce these citizens' civil rights.
In 1928, oil was discovered in the county. Its exploitation and processing made a significant contribution to the economy.
Adjacent Counties & Parishes
Cities & Communities
- Elysian Fields
- Gill
- Hallsville
- Harleton
- Jonesville
- Karnack
- Latex
- Longview (part)
- Marshall (County Seat)
- Nesbitt
- Scottsville
- Uncertain
- Waskom
- Woodlawn
Links
National Register of Historic Places
Caddo Lake Nat'l Wildlife Refuge
