Harmonson Rancho
Newcastle, Young County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Kentucky native Peter Harmonson (1797-1865) came to Texas in 1845 as a settler in the Peters Colony. The following year he helped form Denton County, where he served as the first sheriff. In 1854 he brought his family here and established a ranch near this site known as Harmonson Rancho. An organizer of Young County, he served as its first chief justice. He died from a wound received in an Indian raid on the Elm Creek community. In 1869, after it was sold, his ranch site and his son Z. J. "Jack" Harmonson figured in a skirmish between Indians and local cattlemen.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Kentucky-born Peter Harmonson came to Texas in 1845 as a settler in the Peters Colony and helped organize Denton County, where he served as its first sheriff. In 1854 he moved his family west to establish a ranch near this site—Harmonson Rancho—and went on to help found Young County as its first chief justice. He died of a wound suffered in the Elm Creek Indian raid in 1865, and years later his old ranch was again the scene of a clash between Indians and cattlemen involving his son.
Why it matters
Harmonson's life traces the violent, incremental push of Anglo settlement onto the Comanche and Kiowa frontier of North Texas in the mid-19th century.
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Related people
- · Peter Harmonson
- · Z. J. 'Jack' Harmonson
Related events
- · Elm Creek Raid
- · Organization of Young County
Themes & tags
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