His firstborn son, also William Alexander Harris would be educated in Washington, D.C., and at the Virginia Military Institute, volunteered for Confederate States Army service, and after serving in various mostly staff positions during the war, moved to Kansas and became a railroad official, as well as continued his father's political tradition, winning election to the U.S. Congress as a Populist, and later serving in the Kansas state senate.
The Shenandoah Herald printed an article he had written in that year, which seems the first to describing the site, which later became a tourist attraction.
In September, 1837, the elder Harris continued in his multi-faceted roles and was responsible for donations for the opening of a road east through the Blue Ridge at Milam's Gap.
Before his retiring to private life the elder Harris held several other positions including editor of the Spectator and The Constitution in Washington, D.C., and also chargé d'affaires to the Argentine Republic from 1846 to 1851.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress