Around 1857, the county seat was moved to the site of present day Harrisburg; a courthouse was built, a post office opened and the the town was established. As in many of the areas in the vicinity, Harrisburg was surrounded with timberland and farms and cotton gins, grist mills and sawmills were built to accommodate these emerging industries. Other workers and people with other skills and providing services such as merchants, lawyers and doctors soon moved to the town. The arrival of the railroad around 1882 brought still more facets to the economy of the town. A glimpse of these early days is provided by the Parker Pioneer Homestead. This collection of buildings, primarily log structures, consists of Clark’s Cabin, the Loom House, the Broom Shop, the General Store, the Barn, the Blacksmith, the Way Station, the Grist Mill, the Sorghum Mill, the E. Sloan Heritage School, Roberts’ Chapel, the Smokehouse, the Post Office, Print Shop and a covered bridge.