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Harrison County, Texas

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Harrison County, Texas

Contents

History/Timeline

16th Century- Caddo Indians were living in this region before arrival of Spanish explorers. Once Spanish arrived, the European diseases and weapons decimated the Caddoes.[1]

1830-1835 Mexican authorities granted a dozen land grants to Americans. Settlers had few Indian problems in the area. [1]
Neutral Ground See below

http://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1265&context=ethj


1839 - after the Texas Revolution, 1839, The Republic of Texas formed Harrison County from Shelby County.[2][1]
1842 Harrison co. was organized. Marshall, founded in 1841, became the county seat in 1842.[1]
1846 - Harrison County was reduced in 1846 following the establishment of Panola and Upshur Counties. [1][3]
1850 Harrison County landowners held more slaves than in any other county in Texas until the end of the Civil War. This county was a cotton-Plantation based society. (145 planters owned 20 slaves each). [1]Harrison county was listed among the richest and most productive in antebellum Texas.[3]
1860 Census slaves numbered 8,746, roughly 59% of Harrison Counties population.[1]
1861 Citizens overwhelmingly supported secession. It escaped invasion. Hundreds of men fought, gave their lives. Majority of people were required to make sacrifice.[3]
1868 a small adjustment in county size with Marion County during Reconstruction. Defeat of Civil war brought military occupation. White citizens resented federal authority and Republican party county governing.. African Americans found freedom did not bring economic change or opportunities.[3]
1870's Southern Pacific Railroad, constructed from Caddo Lake to Marshall before Civil War, part of Texas and Pacific Railway system during the 1870s, and the area was soon linked with Shreveport to the east, Dallas-Fort Worth to W, and Texarkana to N. Railroad shops, offices were in Marshall...[1]
1878 Democratic party regained statewide. Residents formed Citizen's Party of HarrisonCo. which Citizen's party candidates won the election on a technicality involving the placement of a key ballot box and took firm control of local government.[1]
1900 its black voters returned Republican majorities in national elections, but the Citizen's party controlled county offices.[1]
pre 1948 -black voters were disfranchised, the county voted solidly Democratic in all elections. When the Democratic party tended to lean toward liberal policies, Harrison county voted conservatively.[1]

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hch08

1880-1930 A Harrison County was extremely agricultural and rural from 1880 to 1930. _population increased 25,171 - 48,497, farms rose to 6,802, cotton was main crop. African Americans were 60% of population.[1]
1928 -2000 Oil was discovered in the county in 1928, production of petroleum and natural gas contribute to economy into the twenty-first century. [1]
1928 871,000 barrels of oil and 59,392,335 cubic feet of gas-well gas were produced in the county.[3]
1930-- Population grew slowly the first fifty years, from 25,171 to 48,397. Cotton continued as the main crop. Production in 1930 was 33,755 bales. [3] Marshall's population was 16,203 (1/3 of county residents).The railroad's shops and general offices for Texas were located in Marshall. The county seat benefited from the railroad and from its position as a retail center for the surrounding area, and by 1930 its population was 16,203, (one-third of the county's residents. Manufacturing establishments, located primarily in and around Marshall, employed 2,319 workers in 1930. [1]
1930s-1935 Great Depression and World War II, marked the beginning of changes in Harrison County at least as significant as those brought on by the Civil War. In the Depression values of farm property fell 30% between 1930 and 1935, 1500 fewer farms in 1940 than in 1930. [3]
Longview street scene by Stell, texas escapes
Majority of workers had to depend on nonagricultural occupations, un employment. A majority of workers depended on nonagricultural occupations, and unemployment increased.[3]
1935- 1,114 heads of families in Harrison County were on government relief. [1]
1937 there were 80 miles of paved roads (1970 it was crisscrossed with federal and state highways, including Interstate Highway 20, the major artery from Shreveport to Dallas. [1]
1937 Rural electrification brought electricity to farms and rural homes. Panola-Harrison Electric Cooperative, begun in 1937, increased its clientele from (332 customers in 1938) to (2,802 in 1950) and (7,416 by 1970).[1][3]
1940, 850 workers were employed on public emergency works, 838 unemployed. [1]
World War II ended economic disaster of the thirties but caused emigration of blacks from the county. :1940 and 1950, although African Americans were a majority, but the percentage decreased (from 48,937 to 50,900 in 1930s (fell to 47,745 by 1950) .[1]
The white population increased, but the number of blacks declined so rapidly that the county showed an overall population loss in each census, to (44,841 by 1970). Agriculture occupied fewer workers each year, and cotton planting virtually disappeared. Others moved to town or left county.[1]
1930-1970 registered vehicles were:(1930 7,396) ( in 1970 there were 26,912. The county had eighty miles of paved roads .[3]
1937 there were 80 miles of paved roads (by 1970 it was crisscrossed with federal and state highways, including Interstate Highway 20, the major artery from Shreveport to Dallas. [1]
1937 Rural electrification brought electricity to farms and rural homes. Panola-Harrison Electric Cooperative, begun in 1937, increased its clientele from (332 customers in 1938) to (2,802 in 1950) and (7,416 by 1970).[1]
1928 -2000 Oil was discovered in the county in 1928, production of petroleum and natural gas contribute to economy into the twenty-first century. [3]
1950 high school graduates were 23% percent of those aged twenty-five or older[1]
1970, however, 42% high school graduates age 25 or older[3]
1978 agricultural census of 1978 reported only one farmer growing cotton in the county. Farmers who stayed on the land depended on mixed farming and cattle raising. [3]
1980 After 30 years of decline, the population rose to 52,265 in 1980, the largest in the county's history. The African American population remained stable in numbers.[1]

Marshall also reported its largest population ever—24,921. County workers earned a total of $434 million per year in retail business, petroleum and lumber processing, pottery manufacture. [1]

1992,96 Democrat Bill Clinton won a plurality of the county's voters in 1992 and 1996.Republican George W. Bush carried the county by large margins in 2000 and 2004.[3]
2004 88,982,056 barrels of oil had been taken from county lands since production began. [1]





NEUTRAL GROUND

Neutral Ground

Harrison County was a part of the "neutral ground" of the pioneer days. [4] [5] [6]

Miss Eleanor Attebery has history of the part that Harrison that took in the Regulator=Moderator War disputes. It is mentioned in articles known as "The Bloody Neutral Ground in Harrison County", by Eleanor Attebery, Marshall, Texas, ["The Texas History Teachers' Bulletin", Volumes 7-14 - by the History Staff of the University of Texas; Nov 15, 1918] Harrison County and Neutral Ground

July, 1806 Herrera, a Spanish general with 1,300 men was worried when Zebulon Pike explored the area of the Red River and Sabine River. In defending the E boundary from the USA invading Texas he the Sabine River. General Wilkinson of the Louisiana State Militia, with troops from New Orleans appeared and met him at Natchitoches. Herrera demanded the return of the troops to the left bank of the Sabine River without delay. Gen Wilkinson held a consultation with Herrera among the moss-hung Oaks.. RESULT: The Spanish troops withdrew back to Nacogdoches.. Rumors were the peace had to do with Wilkinson alarmed Herrera that he negotiated for a large sum of money to be divided between the two generals for the defense of Texas. When territory between the Sabine River and Arroyo Hondo was declared neutral up to the time the boundary question was settled. http://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1265&context=ethj
This neutral strip of territory was one of the darkest pages of Texas history. It did not belong to Spain, Texas Colony or the United States. No law was in the area.. Frontiersmen, desperadoes fleeing justice, and outlaws seem to have been running the county area.. Here if any cattle/horses wandered there, they were stolen.. Land certificates which were frauds began. Thieves, thugs, and even murderers were here. Slaves were stolen, sold in New Orleans. Many citizens were forced to take sides. The quarrel of the two clans became a blood-feud, the main object of each being to exterminate the other. No man's life or property was safe. http://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1265&context=ethj
The "Regulators" began Regulator=Moderator War These people were some of Texas' best citizens. Captains, lieutenants, spies were elected and the meetings were in the thick piney woods of East Texas. Members would submit names of criminals as well as their personal enemies. Once arrested they had a quasi trial. Many were killed.Some were forced to plead guilty or not guilty. If they pled guilty they're punished. If they pled "not guilty" they're tortured for lying. Second clan began to "moderate the lawlessness of the Regulators, known as the Moderators

[7]

William Boulware, frontiersman was leader of the Regulators of the Regulator=Moderator War. He was bitterly hated, so built a block-house in North Marshall, Texas near the site of the Texas & Pacific shops. William only left the house when the sun was up. The block-house was meeting place for the Regulators. Other block-houses were built for same reasons near the Sabine River.
A traveler encountered a bunch of men who asked if he was a Regulator or Moderator. The traveler thought the men were Regulators, so said he was one of them. He guessed wrongly, and was beaten by the Moderators. He was to told to become a Moderator. Later he encountered different men, and said he was a Moderator. WRONG. He was beaten again. The story goes that the third time he just said he was "nothing and almost not that". http://genealogytrails.com/tex/pineywoods/harrison/history_bloodyground.html
Colonel Robert Potter was a Moderator. He served in US Congress, was Secretary of War under President Sam Houston. He had fled to the neutral land from the law on the shore of Caddo Lake, Potter's Point. There he could keep track of his Regulator enemies. See his Biography for the full story.http://genealogytrails.com/tex/pineywoods/harrison/history_bloodyground.html
Peter Whetstone donated the land on which Marshall stands, as well as ten acres for the campus of a college to be established. He was once hiding in a thicket near the City Laundry, on North Franklin St., Marshall, Regulators surrounded it.. He ran into an armed man with a frown when retreating. Whetstone asked why, and the Regulator lowered the gun and allowed him to escape with a warning. He was later killed by William Boulware near Hotel Marshall. http://genealogytrails.com/tex/pineywoods/harrison/history_bloodyground.html
1841 Charles Jackson a Regulator and fugitive settled in Shelby County next door. He was a candidate for Congress. He blamed the defeat on the Shelby County land office (a branch from Austin, Texas. When Jackson reported the Shelby County activities, Joseph Goodbreed (of Shelby County wrote back telling him he would be shot. Jackson instead found Goodbreed and returned the letter, then shot him. Jackson was to be tried in Harrison County. His followers stopped the trial. Judge Hansford, of 7th Judicial Dist. refused to hear the trial, stepped down (also was a Moderator). Judge Hansford was later killed at his home by the Regulators. http://genealogytrails.com/tex/pineywoods/harrison/history_bloodyground.html
Book image on Regulators and Neutral ground.



Government Offices

  • Named after Jonas Harrison a Lawyer and Texas Revolutionary.

Harrison County has had five courthouses: 1839, 1848, 1889, 1900 and 1964.[8]

1st courthouse, 1839 no image

2nd courthouse, 1848 2 story, demolished in 1889.[8]

1848 courthouse.

3rd courthouse, 1889 Brick Gothic 3 story was Destroyed by fire 1899[8]

1889 Courthouse.

4th courthouse, 1900 by Architect - J. Reily Gordon, Style Renaissance Revival /Beaux Arts, material granite, stone and marble. Cost $62,000. Third on this site. (Little Virginia, 1851; brick Gothic, 1889, burned in 1899.) This one of granite, brick and marble. Capitol-styled, classic Roman architecture, with a dome clock and belfry surmounted by a symbolic figure of justice. In 1964 became site of Harrison County Museum, in space allotment after new Courthouse was opened on Whetstone Square. [8]Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965.

Here's an image.
Detail of tower of 1900 courthouse

5th courthouse, 1964 The 1964 Harrison County courthouse is a modern structure of glass and brick. [8]

1964 courthouse.
Geography

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hch08

Harrison County is located in NE Texas along the Louisiana border.
Marshall, county seat, largest town, is 152 miles E of Dallas and 39 miles W of Shreveport.
County center lies at 32°30' north latitude and 94°30' west longitude.
Size - 894 sq. mi.of E Texas timberlands, is heavily forested with Pine, cypress, Oak.
Terrain gently rolling,
Elevation 200 to 400 feet above sea level.
Rivers, Drainage- N and E Harrison County, (2/3 of the total area), is drained to the Red River in Louisiana by Little Cypress Creek, Cypress Bayou, and Caddo Lake. The other 1/3 of the county is drained by Sabine River, (S boundary).
Soil - Two soil types, upland sedimentary and lowland alluvial. Upper sedimentary not, is not rich as the alluvial, is primarily a sandy loam noted for being loose and easily cultivated.
Mineral resources include oil, gas, and clays that have proved valuable for making bricks and pottery. :Temperatures - high of 95° F in July to low of 37° in January,
Rainfall more than 46 inches a year
Growing season extends 245 days.

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hch08

Adjacent counties
  • Marion County (north)
adjacent counties
  • Caddo Parish, Louisiana (east)
  • Panola County (south)
  • Rusk County (southwest)
  • Gregg County (west)
  • Upshur County (northwest)
Protected areas
  • Caddo Lake
  • Caddo Padded Trail
  • Rio Ammunition
  • Historical Museum
Demographics

Harrison County comprises the Marshall, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Longview–Marshall, TX Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the Ark-La-Tex region.[3]

Harrison County, formerly a Democratic party stronghold, is represented in the Texas House of Representatives by Republican Chris Paddie, a former Marshall mayor.[3]

In 2000, there were 62,110 people in the county with a population density of 69 people/sq. mi. The racial makeup of the county was 71.35% White, 24.03% Black or African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.86% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. 5.34% of the population were Hispanic. Median income for a household in the county was $33,520, and the median income for a family was $41,112.The per capita income for the county was $16,702. 16.70% of the population and 12.90% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 21.80% of those under the age of 18 and 14.60% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.[3]

The county claims these ancestry groups:English - 41%, [3] Black or African American - 24%, Irish - 8%, German - 3%, Scotch-Irish - 3%, Scottish - 2%, Dutch - 1%, Italian - 1%, French or French Canadian (except Basque) - 1%, Mexican - 1%, Polish 1%

Politics:
This county has seemed to change around in voting.. Residents formed the Citizen's Party of Harrison County 1878, and appealed to voters with the argument that Republican government was too expensive. Amidst charges of fraud and coercion, Citizen's party candidates won the election on a technicality involving the placement of a key ballot box and took firm control of local government. The county has remained politically conservative since Reconstruction. Until 1900 its black voters returned Republican majorities in national elections, but the Citizen's party controlled county offices. Once black voters were disfranchised, the county voted solidly Democratic in all elections until 1948. At that point, with the national Democratic party tending toward liberal policies, Harrison County began to support conservative Southerners such as Strom Thurmond in 1948 and George Wallace in 1968, and it began to vote Republican. Dwight D. Eisenhower twice carried the area easily. Lyndon B. Johnson (in spite of the fact that his wife came from the county) barely defeated Barry Goldwater there in 1964, and Republican candidates won in 1980, 1984, and 1988. Democrat Bill Clinton won a plurality of the county's voters in 1992 and 1996, at least partly because independent candidate Ross Perot polled strongly in the area during those elections. But Republican George W. Bush carried the county by large margins in 2000 and 2004. [9]

Education -

In 1950 only 23 percent of those aged twenty-five or older were high school graduates. [3]
By 1970, however, 42 percent met this standard.
1980, for the first time, a majority of residents aged twenty-five or older were high-school graduates.
2014 -More than 73 percent of the residents age twenty-five and older had four years of high school, and more than 15 percent had college degrees. [3]

School Districts:

  • Elysian Fields ISD (partly in Panola County)
  • Hallsville ISD
  • Harleton ISD
  • Marshall ISD
  • Longview ISD (mostly in Gregg County)
  • New Diana ISD (mostly in Upshur County)
  • Ore City ISD (mostly in Upshur County, small portion in Marion County)
  • Waskom ISD
  • Karnack ISD

Lakes

  • Caddo Lake State Park,
  • Lake O' the Pines, and other lakes provide water recreation,
Cities
Longview street scene by Stell, texas escapes
Town
Communities Communities Communities
Elysian FieldsScottsville Jonesville
GillWaskomNesbitt
Woodlawn KarnackHallsville
HarletonLatex

Formed From

  • 1839--Harrison County was created 28 January 1839 from Shelby County.

Resources

  • Caddo Lake State Park,
  • Lake O' the Pines, and other lakes provide water recreation,
  • Marshall hosts a Fire Ant Festival in October.
  • retail business,
  • petroleum
  • Lumber processing,
  • pottery manufacture
Census
1850 --- 11,822 —
1860 --- 15,001 26.9%
1870 --- 13,241 −11.7%
1880 --- 25,177 90.1%
1890 --- 26,721 6.1%
1900 --- 31,878 19.3%
1910 --- 37,243 16.8%
1920 --- 43,565 17.0%
1930 --- 48,937 12.3%
1940 --- 50,900 4.0%
1950 --- 47,745 −6.2%
1960 --- 45,594 −4.5%
1970 --- 44,841 −1.7%
1980 --- 52,265 16.6%
1990 --- 57,483 10.0%
2000 --- 62,110 8.0%
2010 --- 65,631 5.7%
Est. 2015 --- 66,746

Notables

Land Grants
  • 1830-1835 Mexican authorities granted a dozen land grants to Americans
Cemeteries



Sources

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hch08
  2. ↑ https://texasalmanac.com/topics/government/harrison-county
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_County,_Texas
  4. ↑ Harrison county, Texas
  5. ↑ We are Harrison County, Texas
  6. ↑ Trammel's Trace
  7. ↑ http://genealogytrails.com/tex/pineywoods/harrison/history_bloodyground.html
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/Marshall/Harrison-County-Courthouse-Texas.htm
  9. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_County,_Texas




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Categories: Texas Projects | Texas Neutral Ground | Harrison County, Texas