HARVEY, TEXAS. Harvey is on Farm Road 30 some two miles
southeast of Bryan in central Brazos County. It was established
in 1879 and named for Col. Harvey Mitchell, an early settler of
Booneville. Mitchell was known as the "Father of Brazos County"
for his contribution to the development of the area. He was a
justice of the peace, a minister, a hotel and store owner, a
surveyor, and a blacksmith. The area was first settled in the
1860s by planters. A community grew up around the Bethel Church,
and in the late 1800s the Bethel Academy was established with
150 students; during the 1970s a community center was at the
site of the academy. In 1890 J. W. Barron opened a post office
in his local grocery store, and a gristmill and a steam cotton
gin were eventually established at the community. Once the soil
was depleted from local cotton production, ranching began to
dominate the local economy. The population in Harvey was
reported as twenty-five in 1910. During the 1930s the community
had two schools, two churches,