Harbin is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
located in
Erath County
Erath County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. According to the United States Census bureau its population was 42,545 in 2020. The county seat is Stephenville. The county is named for George Bernard Erath, an early surveyor a ...
in
Central Texas
Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas surrounding Austin and roughly bordered by San Saba to Bryan and San Marcos to Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part of the Texas Hill Country and corresponds to a ph ...
, United States. Harbin is in the southwestern part of the county at the intersections of
Fm-847 and the
Fort Worth and Western Railroad
The Fort Worth and Western Railroad is a Class III short-line railroad headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. Operating only within the state of Texas, its main freight service route is between Carrollton, Fort Worth and Brownwood.
History
Much ...
, four miles east-northeast of the City of
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
.
History
The community was settled during the 1860s and was named after a man who donated land for a church to be built in the townsite. The community had a peak population of 80, ''circa'' 1950. During the 1950s Harbin had a school, two stores, and a Baptist church. The Harbin Post Office closed sometime between 1980 and 2000. The population remained at a steady 21 from the 1980s through the 2000s.
On July 27, 2009, Erath County Commissioners granted permission for an operational Volunteer Fire Department to be established at Harbin. News of the event was featured on
KWTX-TV.
References
Handbook of Texas online entry for Harbin, Texas
Unincorporated communities in Erath County, Texas
Unincorporated communities in Texas
{{ErathCountyTX-geo-stub