Some of those passengers traveled further up the bay system, but it is not known whether they settled up Buffalo Bayou or the San Jacinto River.

Also in 1822, John Iiams settled his family at Cedar Point after sailing from Berwick's Bay, Louisiana.

[4] In 1824, the land empresario, Stephen F. Austin convened at the house of William Scott for the purpose of conveying titles for Mexican headrights.

He was joined by the land commissioner, Baron von Bastrop, and Austin's secretary, Samuel May Williams.

A few immigrants settled on Buffalo Bayou in these early years, including Moses Callahan, Ezekial Thomas, and the Vince brothers.

Although this body is called a court, it conducts the general business of the county and oversees financial matters.

[25] The commissioners court may hire personnel to run major departments, such as health and human services.

It voted Republican in all but one presidential election from 1952 to 2004, the lone break coming when native Texan Lyndon Johnson carried it in his 44-state landslide in 1964.

Though it has shifted towards Democrats in recent years, Harris County has nevertheless voted to the right of Dallas, Travis, Bexar, and El Paso, each of which has a smaller population.

[28] In 2013, Allen Turner of the Houston Chronicle said that residents of Harris County were "consistently conservative in elections" and that they were, according to a Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research opinion poll, "surprisingly liberal on topics such as immigration, gun control and equal matrimonial rights for same-sex couples".

[30] The Kinder Institute's Houston Survey in 2018 found that from 2014 through 2018 the number of Houston residents who supported adoption of children by same-sex couples climbed above 50% and remained there, while in 2017 over 56% of residents reported gay or lesbian persons among their circle of close personal friends.

Just above 82% favored offering illegal immigrants a path to citizenship provided they speak English and have no criminal record, holding from 83% in 2013, which was up from 19% in 2009.

In 2013, 87% supported background checks for all firearms, the latest year that question was included in the Kinder Houston Survey.

Completed in 2011, the $50 million, eight-year project was designed to restore notable historic aspects of the courthouse while providing for contemporary communication and building needs.

This was done following failings in the 2022 election, as confirmed by the investigation initiated by Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg's office.

The Harris County jail facilities are in northern downtown on the north side of the Buffalo Bayou.

[51] Guy R. Rankin, IV is chief executive officer of Harris County Housing Authority (HCHA).

That year the Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research released a report advocating for consolidating several of these agencies as a way of saving taxpayer money.

In 2000, the largest employers in Harris County were Administaff, Compaq, Continental Airlines, Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, and Southwestern Bell.

[60][61] This is in addition to the over 12,500 new graduates the UH System produces every year who enter the workforce in Houston and throughout Texas.

The vacancy rate in the area near Farm to Market Road 1960 and Texas State Highway 249 in north Harris County was 53% in 2009.

[64][65] The HP offices, which are now occupied by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, are now in a limited purpose annexation in Houston.

[67][68] BJ Services Company has its headquarters in the Spring Branch district and in unincorporated Harris County.

[74] General Electric operates an aeroderivative division facility on Jacintoport in unincorporated Harris County.

[75][76] Randall's Food Markets, a subsidiary of Safeway Inc., has its distribution center in unincorporated Harris County.

[77] In 2008, KBR announced that it will open a new office facility in an unincorporated area in western Harris County.

It has an Adult Education Center in the Northside and an office in the North Post Oak Building in Spring Branch.

Several private institutions of higher learning—ranging from liberal arts colleges to a nationally recognized research university—are located within Harris County.

The Houston Airport System defines Harris County as a part of Bush Intercontinental's service region.

[107] The city of Houston operates Ellington Field, a general aviation and military airport in Harris County.