In 1891, Silas W. Crane settled on a timbered tract which joins the present city on the south and east.

The same year Fred Grant purchased the Fisher Brothers Sawmill in St. Maries and moved it to Harrison.

In August 1905, a Spokane company was granted a franchise to put in a water system with a pumping plant at a cost of $20,000.

The following year came the telephone, connecting Harrison with points up the St. Joe and Coeur d’Alene rivers.

Rocky Mountain Bell purchased the property later that year and Harrison was connected to the outside world.

The next few years saw the opening of the First National Bank of Harrison, the Opera House, various drug, grocery, hardware, furniture, clothing & jewelry stores along with tailoring, blacksmithing and shoemaker shops, and restaurants, hotels and a hospital.

For a time around the turn of the century, Harrison was the largest town in Kootenai County; the city directory in 1911 reported a population of 1,250.

There were several other steamers such as the Georgie Oakes that carried passengers and freight making the depot a popular place for area children.

Passenger service was discontinued in the early 1920s but they continued to haul freight until 1932 when the line was abandoned.

Many early day photos are on display at the Crane Historical Society Museum along with a lot of information about Harrison.

Community spirit continues today with the Old Time Picnic, which is always held the last weekend in July.

[5] The Trail is 72 miles (116 km) of easy riding and runs from Plummer to Mullan on the former right-of-way of the Union Pacific Railroad.

[6][7] In the mid-2010s, a Resort Condominiums International was constructed at Arrow Point on Lake Coeur d'Alene just north of town.

[9] Harrison is located 28 miles (45 km) south of Interstate 90 on the Lake Coeur d'Alene Scenic Byway, Highway 97.

The lower reaches of the river's valley are filled with smaller lakes, and as such water dominates much of the local geography.

The Saint Joe Mountains of the Bitterroot Range rise high above the flat lakes around Harrison.