Grant's Colony (also called Harmony Settlement)
Grant's Colony, also known as Harmony Settlement, was a post-Civil War
freedmen's community established in 1866 in central Walker County,
Texas, approximately five miles east of Huntsville along Harmon Creek.
It spanned about 6,000 acres of land owned by George Washington Grant,
stretching across Walker and Grimes counties, and was designed as a
model farming settlement promoting racial harmony, education, and
self-sufficiency during the Reconstruction era. George Washington Grant
(1814–1889) was born in Madison County, Alabama, and moved to Texas in
1831. He built his wealth as a mail contractor, trader, and stagecoach
operator in Walker County, with assets valued at $20,244 in 1860 and
$16,500 in 1870. During the Civil War, he served briefly as a private
in the 17th Texas Infantry and later in the 4th State Troops of Texas.
Post-war, he served as Walker County sheriff from 1876 to 1878 and
operated a small lumber mill at Grant Springs. Influenced by his wife
Mary's introduction to the Church of Christ
(Disciples of Christ) philosophy—connected to Quaker ideals that
condemned slavery and emphasized education and racial equality—Grant
underwent a religious conversion and shifted from being a former
slaveholder to a philanthropist. He accumulated over 11,000 acres
between 1856 and 1874, dedicating the
6,000-acre parcel for the colony to attract freedpeople, white farmers,
and Quaker educators. Grant also advocated for education broadly,
originating the idea for
the Sam Houston Normal Institute (now Sam Houston State University) in
1879, serving on its first board, and starting classes in the Texas
State Penitentiary at Huntsville in 1871.
The colony began in 1866 as freedpeople organized on Grant's land amid
the challenges of Reconstruction, including unrest enforced by the
Freedmen's Bureau. In 1867, Grant deeded two acres to a 12-member
all-Black board of
trustees for Mount Moriah Methodist Church, Good Hope Baptist Church,
and a school, making it a haven of safety and opportunity. In 1869, he
recruited Quaker educators Edward, Hannah, and Sarah
Williams from Ohio to teach at the "Colony Grove" schoolhouse, where
they educated over 120 students annually in primary subjects and music,
built the facility, and organized a Temperance Band. Edward Williams
became the first African American to obtain a teaching certificate in
Walker County.
The community grew to around 350–400 residents at its peak in the 1870s
and 1880s, with literacy rates rising from 16% in 1870 to over 66% by
1900.
It became a center for African American politics and the Populist
movement; in the 1870s, resident Richard Williams (a former slave)
served as the first African American legislator from Grimes, Madison,
and Walker Counties.
The Union Labor Party held conventions there in the late 1880s, and the Walker County Farmer’s Alliance met regularly.
Economy and Community LifeThe economy was agriculture-based, with
residents—mostly tenants or sharecroppers on Grant's land—growing
cotton, corn, sorghum, cucumbers, tomatoes, and peaches, which they
canned, dried, or sold. Grant provided infrastructure like a mill, cotton gin, post office, and bridge over Harmon Creek.
In 1876, inspired by the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia,
he introduced knitting machinery managed by J. H. Hill, adding a small
industrial element.
Daily life involved farming, education, and communal activities,
though challenged by environmental factors like frequent flooding of
Harmon Creek, which isolated parts of the settlement.
As an interracial utopia, it fostered harmony between Black and white
residents, governed by the all-Black council, with little internal
unrest despite external racial violence in Texas, including from the Ku
Klux Klan.
It stood out among freedom colonies for its deliberate integration and protection under Grant's influence.
Decline and Legacy:
After Grant's death in 1889, his indebted estate was
sold in 1900 to creditor Sallie Mae Gibbs, who continued leasing the
land. The bridge washed away around 1910, the school relocated in the
1920s, and political influence waned. By 1936, the U.S. Forest Service
(now part of Sam Houston National
Forest) acquired the property from the Gibbs family, leading to the
destruction or relocation of churches, the school, and other
structures; residents dispersed.
Today, remnants include fading road ruts from Main and Church Streets,
a few pillars in Harmon Creek, and Grant Colony Cemetery, which holds
graves reflecting the community's history, with headstones shifting
from professional to homemade over time.
A Texas Historical Commission marker was dedicated on December 5, 2019,
at the intersection of Hwy. 19 and Old Colony Road, honoring Grant and
the colony as part of the "undertold stories" program, organized by the
Walker County Historical Commission and Sam Houston State University.
The site has been studied since 2016 by historians like Zachary
Doleshal using maps, aerial photos, and metal detectors to uncover
artifacts and preserve its story of interracial cooperation and Black
empowerment during a turbulent era.
Grant's Colony was five miles east of Huntsville in central Walker County. It was named for its benefactor, George Washington Grant
of Walker County, who planned a model farming community at the site.
During the Civil War his wife, Mary, introduced him to the religious
philosophy of the Church of Christ, which condemned slavery, a
commitment to education, and a desire for racial harmony. He accumulated
over 11,000 acres in Walker and Grimes County between 1856 and 1874.
Grant’s Colony began in 1866 as freedmen moved to the area following the
Civil War. A 6,000 acre parcel of land stretching across Harmon Creek
become the site of Grant’s Colony, which he sometimes referred to as
“Harmony Settlement.”
In 1867 Grant deeded two acres of land to a
twelve-member board of trustees for Mount Moriah Methodist Church, Good
Hope Baptist Church, and a school. Grant's Colony was predominantly a
freedmen's village that provided a site of safety and opportunity during
Reconstruction. Grant recruited Edward, Hannah, and Sarah Williams to
teach at Grants’ Colony at an 1869 meeting of the Society of Friends in
Jackson, Mississippi. Over nine years the family helped build the
“Colony Grove” schoolhouse where they taught primary school and music
lessons to 120 students annually. Edward Williams became the first
African American to obtain a teaching certificate in Walker County and
taught at the
Williams’ school. TSHA
Texas State Historical Association
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/grants-colony-tx
East Texas History
https://easttexashistory.org/items/show/252
TX Almanac
https://www.texasalmanac.com/places/grants-colony
txgenwebcounties
https://www.txgenwebcounties.net/walker/cemetery/grant.htm
Find a Grave
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/3896/grant-colony-cemetery