Mathias Harman, Sr. (1736–1832) was an early explorer, hunter, and Revolutionary War veteran who helped establish the first permanent English settlement in eastern Kentucky in 1755. In 1789 he founded Harman’s Station on the Levisa River near John’s Creek in present-day Johnson County. He and his wife, Lydia, settled in this area in 1803, and his last home site and grave are just east of here.