Town History
Harwood, Texas, was founded in 1844, when Ezekiel Harwood purchased over 300 acres from Spanish settlers who told him the entire area was full of gold. Although no gold was actually discovered, Harwood found the area “charming and conveniently far from major waterways” and began to raise a family.
The town was incorporated in 1859, and its remote location buffered it from many effects of the Civil War (1861-65) and Reconstruction (1865-77), as well as World War I (1914-1917) and the Roaring ’20s (1920s).
However, in World War II (1941-45), the town was briefly put on the map as hometown of Bertram Jesper, one of the principal actors in the Manhattan Project (and proprietor of Jesper’s Tavern, in business since 1874 and located on historic Main Street).
Post-war prosperity led to improvements in the town, including an upgrade of Harwood Cemetery, situated what we now know is too close to the town proper. A fence was planned to surround the entire cemetery, but the Korean War (1950-53) soon distracted the residents and the fence was never built. While designed to keep ne’er-do-wells out of the cemetery, it probably would have been convenient for containing carnivorous corpses when they arose from the dead, but hindsight is 20/20.
Today, Harwood is an up-and-coming-and-rebuilding community ripe for new business, tourism and recreation. We invite you to explore this site and determine why Harwood is being called “The Town That Can Come Back To Life!”
The Town of Harwood is a rural town with a rich history, known for its spectacular scenery and close proximity to the Boca del Infeirno.
Much of the town is being rebuilt, and we're working to preserve the historical architecture inexplicably spared by the undead in order to retain a vibrant small town feel. We invite you to explore this site and determine why Harwood is being called “The Town That Can Come Back To Life!”