John Harris, Who Laid Out Harrisburg, Had Narrow Escape, October 25, 1755

John Harris, Sr., built his log house on the bank of the Susquehanna River where the City of Harrisburg now stands in the year of 1705. This building was subsequently stockaded and became known as Fort Harris.

Harris was especially an Indian trader, but engaged largely in agriculture. It is said of him that he was the first person to use a plow on the Susquehanna, and moreover, that “he was as honest a man as ever broke bread.”

The elder Harris was born in the County of Yorkshire, England, of Welsh parents, in the year 1673, and was brought up in the trade of his father, that of a brewer. He was of middle age when he emigrated to America and located in Philadelphia, where he became a contractor for cleaning and grading the streets of the city. He married Esther Say, an English lady, who possessed a remarkable personality and was noted for her extraordinary energy and learning.

In January, 1705, John Harris was given a license to “seat himself on the Susquehanna, and to erect such buildings as are necessary for his trade, and to enclose and improve such quantities of land as he shall think fit.”

He tarried at Conewago awhile, but soon learned of the beauty and superior advantages of Paxtang, and that the best fording-place on the Susquehanna was near there, so he removed and, immediately upon his arrival, commenced the erection of a home and storehouse, which were subsequently to figure so conspicuously in the pioneer history of the young Province.

In connection with his farming he established a ferry which became known throughout the entire Eastern section of the United States.

Miss Wharton, in her delightful story, “In Old Pennsylvania Towns,” refers to the elder Harris as follows:

“John Harris is said to have lived on fairly good terms with the surrounding Indians, but one thrilling experience of his is among the cherished traditions of Harrisburg.

“It seems that a band of roving Indians from the Carolinas halted 745at his trading post to exchange their goods probably for rum, of which the savages already had too much. They became riotous in their drunken revelry and, demanding more rum, were refused by Mr. Harris, who began to fear harm from his visitors.

“Not to be denied they again demanded ‘Lum’ and, seizing him, they took him to a mulberry tree near by and bound him to it, intending to burn him after they had helped themselves to his stores.

“Before the savages were able to carry out their evil designs, some friendly Indians arrived on the scene, having been warned of the danger of his master by Hercules, a faithful colored servant of Mr. Harris. It is said that these friendly Indians had come to the rescue of Mr. Harris in consequence of some act of kindness which they had received from him.

“The grave of Mr. Harris may be seen in the river bank opposite the Cameron house and is now inclosed by a railing. He is buried under the mulberry tree to which he had once been bound, and at his feet rest the remains of the faithful Hercules, who had saved his master’s life.

“There are men living in Harrisburg who remember the stump of the historic mulberry tree which residents of Harrisburg preserved for years by applying cement and plaster and later a shoot from the original tree flourished and bore fruit to which children strolling along the river bank would stop and help themselves.”

He died in 1748, and was succeeded by his son, who was born in the original Harris home, or Fort Harris, in 1727.

He was the first white child born in Pennsylvania west of the Conewago hills. He was carried to Philadelphia by his mother for the purpose of being baptized, and according to the parish register of Christ Church, in Philadelphia, this event was duly solemnized September 22, 1728, his age at that time being eleven months.

When only a young man, John Harris, Jr., was occasionally employed by the Province of Pennsylvania to transact important business with the Indians at critical periods.

His house was frequently visited by the aborigines, and several very important conferences were held there between the several tribes of Indians on the Susquehanna, Ohio, etc., and the Provincial Government of Pennsylvania.

Under the will of his father he became possessed of 700 acres of land, on a part of which he later laid out the city of Harrisburg.

John Harris, Jr., was an energetic and an extensive farmer and an Indian trader, who enjoyed the confidence of the Indians to an unusual degree. His ferry became the most prominent place along the frontier.

Prior to 1754, he had been sent on an Indian mission to Ohio, and at the same time to notice the practical route from his ferry to Logstown. He performed his errand satisfactorily.

746Having accepted an Indian agency he was faithful to his charge, both to the Indians and the Provincial Government. The latter was kept constantly advised of happenings among the frontier settlements, for at this time many of the Ohio Indians had already taken up the hatchet against the English.

He frequently visited the Indians at Shamokin (now Sunbury), and when the French and Indians had committed atrocious murders upon the frontier inhabitants he, aided by others, rushed to their rescue and often buried the bodies of the slain.

These missions were frequently carried out under great hardship and danger. The most serious experience in the life of John Harris occurred October 25, 1755, when the party he was leading from Shamokin was attacked near Mahanoy Creek by Indians lying in ambush and four of his party were killed and four drowned. The person riding on the same horse with Harris was shot and killed, and a moment later the horse was killed and Harris compelled to flee for safety by swimming the river.

John Harris was a sincere patriot. When the independence of the colonies was being agitated he thought it premature, fearing that the colonies were unequal to the task of combating with Great Britain, but when independence was declared, he advanced £3000 to carry on the contest.

He was a man of keen foresight. He understood the natural advantages of Harris’ Ferry, and twenty years before he laid out the town, he observed that it would be a place of business and the seat of the government of Pennsylvania.

When he laid out Harrisburg in 1785, he conveyed, with other property, four acres on Capitol Hill, east of the present State buildings, for public use.

After a life of usefulness, he closed his eventful career, July 29, 1791, and his remains rest in the old Paxton Presbyterian Church graveyard alongside of the illustrious fellow-patriot, William Maclay, whose daughter was his loving and devoted wife.

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