Harris was granted a league of land 4,428 acres (1,792 hectares) at Buffalo Bayou on August 16, 1824.
He contracted for a town plat of Harrisburg in 1826, while he established a trading post and a grist mill there.
Harris and Wilson managed a small fleet of sailing ships, which imported trade goods from the United States and Mexico, and exported cotton and lumber.
[2] John Richardson and David Harris founded a second trading post at Bell’s Landing, Texas.
By 1838, Mary Jane Harris and her family constructed a house on that property and reorganized the town in order to sell lots.