Person

Nathan Harrison

Homesteader sitting in front of a small cabin with various supplies on porch. A mountain background.
Nathan Harrison sitting in front of his cabin on Palomar Mountain, circa 1910

Courtesy the Nathan Harrison Historical Archaeology Project, Kirby Collection

Quick Facts
Significance:
San Diego County’s first black homesteader
Place of Birth:
Kentucky
Date of Birth:
circa 1833
Place of Death:
San Diego, San Diego County, California
Date of Death:
10 October 1920
Place of Burial:
San Diego, San Diego County, California
Cemetery Name:
Mount Hope Cemetery

Nathan Harrison was San Diego County’s first black homesteader and a local legend.

Harrison was born enslaved in Kentucky in circa 1833. As a young man, he traveled west with his enslaver during the early years of the Gold Rush. Nathan Harrison worked as a miner in Northern California in the 1850s and early ’60s. He appears to have gained his freedom when his enslaver died and migrated south.

In the mid-1870s he moved to Rincon and filed a homestead claim. Harrison received a patent for 112 acres of homesteaded land near the base of Palomar Mountain in 1879. According to the 1880 census, Harrison was one of 55 African Americans in all of San Diego County. In 1882, Harrison sold his property for $300 and went further up the mountain.

Harrison made his home two-thirds of the way up the west side of Palomar Mountain. There he claimed 45.55 acres of land under the Homestead Act. He was one of its first non-Native residents to live in the area. Harrison became a full tribal member of the Luiseño Indians who lived on the mountain. Nathan Harrison was fluent in the Luiseño language and was briefly married to Luiseño Indian women twice.

In 1892, he filed a water claim for the spring associated with his property. With this claim he was able to charge for the spring’s use, but Harrison always provided free water to visitors. Harrison happy greeted the travelers, supplied them with cold spring water, and told embellished tales of his life. His audience of white San Diegans exploring the wilderness loved his stories. Soon he became one of the highlights of a trip up Palomar Mountain. 

Archaeological investigations of his homestead began in 2004. The objects uncovered show Harrison's interactions with tourists. Dr. Seth Mallios stated, “In multiple records from the 1900s, they talk about the standard kit that you bring to Harrison: a pair of pants, a tin of food, and a bottle of alcohol.” (Weiss 2021) The excavations confirmed that he did receive these gifts frequently. The archaeologists have found over 200 mismatched clothing buttons, many meat tins, and liquor bottles from all over the world.

Harrison was an integral part of the rural community in and around Southern California’s Palomar Mountain for nearly half a century before passing away in 1920.

Sources and Additional Reading:

Homestead National Historical Park

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Last updated: February 14, 2023