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Harrisburg was founded before 1825 on the east shore of the Buffalo Bayou in present-day Harris County, Texas, on land belonging to John Richardson Harris. In 1926, Harrisburg was annexed to the city of Houston, Texas.
History
Harrisburg was surveyed in 1826 and formally named Harrisburg by its founder, John Richardson Harris. Harris named the town both after himself and after Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which had been named for his grandfather.
In 1835, the General Council of Texas, a provisional government of Texas, made Harrisburg its capital. On April 16, 1836 during the Texas Revolution, almost all of Harrisburg was burned by the forces of Antonio López de Santa Anna. After the Texas Revolution ended, the city of Houston was founded just north of Harrisburg and was named county seat of Harrisburg (later shortened to Harris) County and capital of the Republic of Texas.
1n 1851, the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado Railway began construction of its line between Harrisburg and Alleyton, Texas. After the Civil War, the railroad expanded and changed its name to the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railroad. Harrisburg remained an important rail town until a fire in the 1870s destroyed the rail yards, which were rebuilt in Houston.
The population of Harrisburg dwindled with the loss of the railroads and with the widening of the Houston Ship Channel in 1919. In December 1926, the City of Houston annexed Harrisburg.
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