Established as Harrisville in 1859, the town was flooded by the Virgin River in 1862, causing the residents to move farther up Quail Creek.

[3] Between 1875 and 1888, the nearby mining town of Silver Reef purchased many agricultural goods from Harrisburg, which created a cash market.

[3] In 1868, Harrisburg's population was 200; however, a year later, a grasshopper plague and a Navajo raiding party caused a few residents to leave.

Constructed in 1864, the two-room stone building was occupied by Orson B. Adams, his wife, two sons, and two granddaughters.

John Kemple stayed in the Orson Adams House on his way to Nevada to mine silver.

In 2001, the Bureau of Land Management acquired the Orson Adams House property and restored it.