Robert Henry Harrison, M.D.
Columbus, Colorado County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(November 13, 1826 - October 17, 1905) A Georgia native and a doctor's son, Robert Henry Harrison received his medical degree in Ohio in 1846. He married Martha V. Towell in 1856, then served as a colonel in the Confederate Army. He moved to Columbus with his family in 1869, lived in a home at this site, and opened a doctor's office on the town square. He was a founding member and president of The State Medical Association, helped establish Texas' Board of Health, and was a prolific medical journalist. He built a hospital in Columbus in 1880 for railway employees. He left a legacy of civic leadership and volunteer medical service.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A Georgia-born doctor's son, Robert Henry Harrison earned his medical degree in 1846 and served as a Confederate colonel before settling in Columbus in 1869. From his office on the town square he became a founder and president of the State Medical Association, helped create Texas' Board of Health, wrote prolifically on medicine, and in 1880 built a hospital for railway workers.
Why it matters
Harrison represents the generation of Confederate veterans who rebuilt Southern civic life after the war, laying the professional and public-health foundations of modern Texas medicine.
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Related people
- · Robert Henry Harrison
- · Martha V. Towell
Themes & tags
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