Colonel Lewis Given Harman

Harman's politics took shape in northeast Texas. In the Mexican War he served on the frontier in James S. Gillett's company of mounted volunteers, and in 1847 he became a Mason. He surveyed in Lamar County, then was elected county surveyor and later county judge in Hopkins County. In the state Senate from 1859 he voted steadily for frontier defense and railroad charters. Back in the House in 1866, he chaired the Public Lands Committee and pressed relief for Confederate widows and orphans.

What the plaque says

Colonel Lewis Given Harman (1818-1902) Typical of those who served the South and then moved into new counties of western Texas. Surveyor, Indian agent, soldier, legislator, justice of the peace. Born in Tennessee. Moved to Texas 1838. Fought in Mexican War. Though 43 when Civil War began, immediately joined 11th Texas Cavalry, in swift 1861 campaign to place Confederate forts in Indian Territory. Was Post Commander, Fort Arbuckle, I.T., June to August 1861. Civic leader in Marathon after its founding in 1882. Had town's first Masonic funeral. (1965)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Museum of the Big Bend — 29 mi
  The museum of the Big Bend region and northern Mexico on the Sul Ross State University campus in Alpine, back since 2007 in its native-stone building of 1937.

More markers nearby

• Marathon — 1.8 mi
• Fort Peña Colorada (Red Rock) — 6.5 mi
• Los Caballos (in core of the Ouachita Structural Belt) — 11 mi
• Denuded Ouachita Rock Belt — 13 mi