Harmon Runnels
1759-1839
[side 1] Patriot Captain in the Georgia Continental Line during the Revolutionary War. He came to the Mississippi Territory in 1810, purchasing two land sections in 1811, along the Pearl River's western bank, which was the earliest land settled in what is now Lawrence County, and where Monticello was established. Runnels platted and named the town in honor of the famous residence of President Thomas Jefferson. He donated lots to be used as a market, public square, church, school and cemetery.
[side 2] Harmon Runnels, in the MS Territory Assembly of 1813, represented Marion and Hancock counties. Lawrence Co. was later formed by a division of Marion Co. at the Probate Court of December 22, 1814, with Runnels as Chief Justice. He also served in the MS Constitutional Convention of 1817, and MS House of Rep. and Senate. He served 30 years total in the Georgia and MS Legislatures. Harmon Runnels died in Monticello at 80 and was buried in the City Cemetery. His son, Hiram George Runnels, was Gov. of MS in 1833. Harmon Runnels' grandson, Hardin Richard Runnels, was Governor of Texas in 1857.
in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America
Erected 2025
this page online
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Government & Politics • Settlements & Settlers • War, US Revolutionary. In addition, it is included in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) series list. A significant historical date for this entry is December 22, 1814.
Location. 31° 33.23′ N, 90° 6.29′ W. Marker is in Monticello, Mississippi, in Lawrence County. It is on East Broad Street (State Highway 184) just east of Washington Street, on the right when traveling east. The marker is located beside the sidewalk, directly in front of the Lawrence County Courthouse. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 517 East Broad Street, Monticello MS 39654, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southwest Mississippi and in the Pine Belt. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and in the Piney Woods. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically,
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 14 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Gov. A.H. Longino House (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); A. H. Longino (about 700 feet away); J. B. Lenoir (approx. 0.2 miles away); Cooper's Ferry (approx. Ό mile away); St. Stephens Road (approx. 1.6 miles away); Old Silver Creek Baptist Church (approx. 7.1 miles away); East Lincoln High School (approx. 11.9 miles away); First Choctaw Cession (approx. 13.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Monticello.
Also see . . . Harmon Runnels 1749-1839 (genealogy.com).
Excerpt: Of all the hardy pioneers who settled Mississippi, few can equal and none surpass Harmon Runnels, the Founder of Lawrence County, as a colorful personality and dedicated early American patriot.(Submitted on June 25, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)J. F. H. Claiborne, the Historian, who first visited Monticello in 1812, when he was a boy of nine, later wrote, "I recall seeing there the venerable Colonels Harmon Runnels." The old soldier must have already acquired a wide reputation over the state for a boy of nine just on a visit, to take note of him and recall it years later. Still later, Claiborne wrote in his "Mississippi As A Province Territory and State": "Harmon Runnels had been a hard fighting captain in the Continental Army and in Georgia; had many a fight with the British, Tories, and Indians; was a hard shell Baptist; a devoted follower of Gen. Elisha Clark in Georgia politics; was decidedly fugalistic in temperament and would fire up and fight anybody at any time for a slur on his religion, his politics, or his friend, Clark. He had strong friends and bitter enemies, but he whipped the latter into submission, and with four sons to back him up, as ready to fight as himself, he ruled the Pearl River County as long as he lived, and died an octogenarian at Monticello, in the odor of sanctity. No truer patriot ever lived or died."
Credits. This page was last revised on June 25, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 25, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 168 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 25, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
