Site of Harmony Ridge Community
San Saba, San Saba County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Founded in 1870s. Among first settlers were the families of Andrew, Mark, and Polk Oliver; Stephen M. Lewis; William Faver; Matt Senterfitt; Asa J. Howard. The only building (a two-story frame structure housing Cumberland Presbyterian Church and local school) was built by citizens in 1877. Andrew and Mark Oliver gave land for building and cemetery. Community got its name because people worked in harmony on construction. Second story was removed in 1911 and brick veneer was added in 1960. Cemetery group meets yearly although community is inactive.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Settled in the 1870s by families including the Olivers, Lewises, and Howards, Harmony Ridge took its name from the cooperative spirit with which residents raised their single public building in 1877 — a two-story frame structure serving as both Cumberland Presbyterian church and school. The Oliver family gave land for the building and cemetery. The community has since faded, though its cemetery association still gathers each year.
Why it matters
Harmony Ridge is a portrait of the vanished rural communities that once dotted Texas, remembered now chiefly by a cemetery and the neighbors who built in common.
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Related people
- · Andrew Oliver
- · Mark Oliver
- · Polk Oliver
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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