John Harmon
Orange, Orange County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born in 1790 in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, John Harmon lived at Poste de Attakapas, a Spanish fortification at the present site of St. Martinville. A veteran of the state's defensive actions during the War of 1812, he wed Elizabeth Compstock Clarks in 1813. Soon after the birth of their first child in 1816, the Harmons sold their St. Martin Parish land and moved west. Although not much is known about their activities over the following decade, it is known they had settled along the eastern bank of the Sabine River by 1826. The next year, Harmon decided to relocate in this area. He built a massive raft of cypress logs which transported a house, a wagon, a pair of oxen, a horse, a cow, farm tools and supplies, and his family, which numbered five. The Harmon family arrived here on January 1, 1828, and settled along the river until 1830, when they established a permanent home on Adams Bayou (2 mi. W). Their arrival at the present site of Orange marked the beginning of permanent settlement. Later, when the town developed, John Harmon was a saddler, a civic leader, and a prominent landowner. He died in 1874, but his contributions and pioneer spirit remain vital to the area's heritage. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in Louisiana in 1790 and a veteran of the War of 1812, John Harmon moved his family west in search of new land, settling along the Sabine River by 1826. In an extraordinary feat of frontier determination, he lashed together a massive raft of cypress logs to ferry his house, wagon, oxen, livestock, tools, and family to the site of present-day Orange on New Year's Day 1828. His arrival marked the beginning of permanent settlement there, and he went on to work as a saddler and civic leader.
Why it matters
Harmon's raft journey embodies the grit of early Anglo-American settlement in Mexican Texas, where individual pioneers laid the first foundations of towns that would outlast the Republic.
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Related people
- · John Harmon
- · Elizabeth Compstock Clarks
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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