James Rush (J.R) Harmon (1872-1927) farmed in Fort Bend and Lamar counties and married schoolteacher Alberta McClure (1879-1966) in 1903. To escape the boll weevil infestation in East Texas, J.R. bought farmland south of Idalou in 1919, and the Harmon family, including six children, relocated by December 1920. When J.R. died, ownership of the land passed to his widow, Alberta. Their son Ralph left school at age 12 and took over the farming while three of his siblings went to college. In 1935, Ralph bought a modern, steel-wheeled tractor to replace his father’s mules. Over five generations, the family expanded the original 160 acres into an extensive farming and cattle operation and a Texas Family Heritage Farm.