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While we Woodlandites harbor ongoing concern about being swallowed up by Harris
County and incorporated into the boundaries of Houston, it might offer
perspective to know that the land on which The Woodlands is situated once
shared a county with present-day Houston
—before we broke away.
My ongoing quest to uncover the history of my little plot of ground in South
Montgomery County near Spring Creek is proving to be complicated. Recently, I
’ve found that this area was once part of another county named Harrisburg. Not
many people have ever heard of Harrisburg County nor know its connection to
present-day Montgomery County. In fact, it only existed from 1836 to 1839, but
while it was a functioning county, it stood at a crossroads and played
important roles in early Texas.
Named for merchant and land developer, John Richardson Harris, Harrisburg County
gave respite to 800 of Sam Houston
’s troops in March 1836 while awaiting Houston’s orders before the Battle of San Jacinto. It was in Harrisburg County that
William Barrett Travis raised a company of men that would follow him to the
Alamo
—and die there. The year 1837 saw a smallpox epidemic along Spring Creek. A town
named Harrisburg, established in 1826, whose boundaries fell within the later
county of Harrisburg was the location of the first steam-powered sawmill in
Texas. Harrisburg, the town and county seat of Harrisburg County, also served
as the capital of Texas for a brief time before the Mexican Army burned it to
the ground in 1836.
While the town was created before the county, the county was created from the
Municipality of Harrisburg (January 1, 1836) whose boundaries likely were
within the Municipality of Austin at that time. It is recorded that in July
1835 there existed a Precinct of Harrisburg, which may have been one of the
three precincts of Austin Municipality. Four months later in October 1835,
consultation records show a Municipality of Harrisburg. In the northernmost
part of that Municipality is where Spring Creek meanders east and west and
where The Woodlands was established in recent times.
Sound confusing? It gets worse. The boundaries of Harrisburg Municipality,
which gave rise to Harrisburg County, were not well defined in the Act that
created them, at least for our
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purposes. Nor is the northern geographic boundary of Harrisburg County clear with reference to Spring Creek. The Laws of Texas 1822-1897 states, “Beginning at the entrance of Clear Creek into Galveston Bay, running up said creek with the line of the Municipality of Brazoria, and with said line to the Brazos River; thence up said river to the upper line of a league of land granted by the Mexican Government to [Samuel] Isaacs; thence along said line to the northeast corner of said league; thence northwardly, to include the settlements on Spring Creek, to the southern line of the Municipality of Washington.... ” Further, the Congres-sional Act for creating Washington Municipality, along with its geographic description, has been lost to history. And finally, the courses and boundaries of rivers mentioned in those descriptions that do exist have changed over time due to floods and reengineering.
Trying to unravel the history of my little plot is really interesting but
presents challenges. While I may never know how much land the county of
Harrisburg actually included or where those boundaries would lie today, it is
clear that The Woodlands area near Spring Creek and its early settlers have
been involved in some of Texas
’ most significant events.l
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Information provided by the Texas Heritage Society. Photo courtesy of the
Antiquarian Society
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