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Contribution #310 of 365
Nathan Harrison
Miner, Homesteader and San Diego County Land Pioneer
1850s–1890s
The contribution
How this work helped shape America
Born enslaved in Kentucky, Nathan Harrison traveled west during the Gold Rush era and worked in mining before pursuing landownership in California. He received a patent for a 112-acre homestead in 1879, later sold it for $300, and established another claim of 45.55 acres on Palomar Mountain. Harrison became an early Black homesteader in San Diego County and a long-standing figure in the region's settlement history.