However, in 1889 Charles Schooley, a settler, donated part of his land for the development of a formal town.

By 1892, Harrisburg had two hotels, two livery stables, a brickwork, a cheese factory, two banks and three newspapers.

It was the principal community for the county, which was almost entirely devoted to wheat farming and cattle ranching.

The lack of a railroad line for shipping eventually drew the larger farm and ranch houses to the north, while the 1960s routing of Interstate Highway 80 through Kimball brought the removal of other businesses to the south.

Other small hamlets in Banner County collapsed as people moved either north or south, or consolidated their activities around Harrisburg.

This movement has allowed Harrisburg to flourish into the 21st century, despite its low resident population.

[citation needed] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 5.3 square miles (14 km2), all land.

The Census Bureau has, since then, not tracked relevant data for the town alone, but only for the entirety of the population within the CDP boundaries.