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History · Harrison

Harrison’s post office opened in 1891, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: maps from 1901 on and the census since 1900.

1891first post office
2on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Harrison began

When was Harrison founded?

1891

The Harrison post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 702 in 19002020 census: 233135 years
Founding year: the first Harrison post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Harrison’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Harrison are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 932 in 1910; 233 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1901 to 1923, drew every building in Harrison.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Harrison’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Harrison’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Harrison, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 932

Peaked at 932 in 1910; 233 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Harrison’s Wikipedia page.

Every building

Harrison, building by building, 1901–1923

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Harrison fire insurance map, 1901, sheet 11901Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Harrison came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Harrison.

Read it all →

Harrison was incorporated in 1899 and was once the largest city on Lake Coeur d'Alene. The community was named after President Benjamin Harrison.

Harrison developed from a squatters homestead to a thriving village in about twelve years. A branch of the O.R. & N. Railroad from Tekoa, Washington, to Harrison was completed in 1890 and was a prime factor in the development of Harrison.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Harrison, 1891 to 1957

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1891Post officeThe Harrison post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1909Born hereEdward F. Harris is born here
  5. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 932
  6. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Harrison, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Waterfront, circa 19102023Waterfront, circa 1910On the Waterfront, July 4, 19162022On the Waterfront, July 4, 1916Roy Slayton Residence, 19062021Roy Slayton Residence, 1906Welcome sign in Harrison Idaho 6-28-20082008Welcome sign in Harrison Idaho 6-28-2008IDMap-doton-Harrison2004IDMap-doton-Harrison
On the map

Harrison on the map, 1957 to 1996

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Harrison. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Harrison on the 1957 USGS mapHarrison on the 1975 USGS mapHarrison on the 1981 USGS mapHarrison on the 1996 USGS map1957Plummer sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Harrison.

On the National Register

2 listings protect 7 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1996
Harrison Commercial Historic District
Harrison Commercial Historic DistrictCrane, Silas W., and Elizabeth, House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

One-Part Commercial Block1
Two-Part Commercial Block1
Bungalow/Craftsman1
Harrison Commercial Historic DistrictOne-Part Commercial Block
Crane, Silas W., and Elizabeth, HouseBungalow/Craftsman

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Questions about Harrison’s history

What year was Harrison founded?

The Harrison post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Harrison?

Two places: the Harrison Commercial Historic District (listed 1996) and the Crane, Silas W., and Elizabeth, House (1999).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.