Super Neighborhoods

65 - Harrisburg / Manchester

NAME: Harrisburg/Manchester/Smith Addition

DATE RECOGNIZED: 11.20.2000

STATUS: Active

COUNCIL DISTRICT: I

MAYOR’S ASSISTANCE OFFICE: East End

CONTACT AND MEETING INFORMATION:
First Saturday, 10:00 am, Odd Months
Hartman Park
9311 E Avenue P, 77012
HistoricEastEnd@gmail.com

LOCATION: Harrisburg/Manchester/Smith Addition lies to the east of Harrisburg, near the confluence of Sims Bayou and the Ship Channel.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY: Harrisburg/Manchester/Smith Addition has a history which predates Houston. Harrisburg was a community located at the confluence of Brays Bayou and Buffalo Bayou before the Texas Revolution. It was burned by Santa Anna's army on their way to defeat at San Jacinto. Houston, established upstream of the devastated community later that year, quickly overtook and eclipsed Harrisburg. By 1927 the area was a part of Houston, dependent on the adjacent Port of Houston.

Harrisburg was originally founded by John Richardson Harris, a New Yorker, who erected a trading post in the area. A town site, Harrisburg, was laid out to accommodate the growing population. It became the temporary capital of Texas when the government officials headquartered there as they were fleeing from Santa Ana's forces.

When the railroad, the Southern Pacific Railroad system, moved its shops to Houston in 1870, Harrisburg began to decline.

The end for Harrisburg as a city came when it was annexed by the City of Houston in 1926. Nothing remains today of pioneer Harrisburg except Glendale Cemetery, which overlooks the Houston Ship Channel.

CIVIC CLUBS: (Updated 9/22/2022)

PARKS:

• Your Super Neighborhood's Demographics