John Harris, Jr., Founder of Harrisburg
John Harris, Jr., the founder of Harrisburg, born on the Pennsylvania frontier in 1727, grew up in Paxton Township on the east side of the Susquehanna River in what was then Harris's Ferry. In 1748 he inherited the land from his immigrant father, and from that time until his death in 1791 he contributed to its development from a fragmented frontier settlement to a structured community town.