Harkeyville

After the county was organized, Harkeyville contested the county seat with San Saba and lost the election. At its height the community had a general store, a dry-goods store, a farm-supply store, a barbershop, a millinery shop, a cattle auction and a cotton gin beside the racetrack. A school went up in 1879 on land given by Martin and Jim Dixon. The racetrack closed after San Saba built a new one, and when U.S. 190 bypassed the town in 1953 most of the shops that had survived the Depression closed. The cattle auction lasted until the early 1970s.

What the plaque says

Harkeyville A site once famous for its horses and racetrack. Riley Harkey (1832-1920) and Israel Harkey (1835-1914) were Indian scouts in Texas in 1850-53. In 1855 they led their parents, Mathias and Catherine Harkey, to move here from Arkansas with other adult sons, daughters, in-laws and grandchildren. The families ranched, and Mathias Harkey ran a country store for many years. Riley Harkey brought to Texas a fine, fleet footed mare, who with her racing progeny drew crowds of enthusiasts to this site for half a century. Other sons and grandsons of Mathias Harkey also joined in the breeding, training, and racing of horses. Stores, blacksmith shop, and other businesses all faced east on a single street overlooking the flat with its racetrack and baseball diamond. There was no post office, but the village was so well known that mail addressed to Harkeyville promptly arrived here. On Nov. 26, 1873, George W. Barnett (1823-1885) gave land for the first school; the schoolhouse was used also for church services and public meetings. The racetrack closed in 1907; the cotton gin burned in 1920, and was not rebuilt; school consolidated in 1929 with San Saba. The last store closed in 1954. A community hall, built 1973, marks site of the town. (1974)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Colorado Bend State Park — 21 mi
  Old ranch country on the Colorado above Lake Buchanan, where a spring-fed creek drops 70 feet over fern-covered travertine at Gorman Falls.

More markers nearby

• Wedding Oak — 2.8 mi
• First Baptist Church of San Saba — 3.9 mi
• San Saba Church of Christ — 3.9 mi
• James Louis & Ellen Austin Baker — 3.9 mi