Carved out of a portion of the Austin colony grant of Richardson Harris, the town of Harrisburg was laid out in 1826. Located on Buffalo Bayou near present day Houston, it became an important trading center before the Texas Revolution.
Before it was burned by Santa Anna a few days before the Battle of San Jacinto, the town was used as a temporary capital for the Ad Interim government of the Republic of Texas.
The town was rebuilt after the revolution. However, the town of Houston, a few miles up the Buffalo Bayou, was laid out soon after the Battle of San Jacinto and became capital of the Republic from the Spring of 1837 until November of 1839.