Biohazard and Pathogen Disinfection in Harker Heights, TX

Harker Heights is a young city by Texas standards: it began in 1957 when two hog farmers, Pinckney R. Cox and Harley Kern, subdivided their land near the Killeen city limits and the Fort Hood Army post and began selling lots.

The city was incorporated on September 24, 1960, after an incorporation election, and Cox - who had pushed through a water system that same month - became its first mayor.

The name 'Harker' is a tribute built out of founder Harley Kern's own name - 'Har' from Harley and 'ker' from Kern - coined because Kern died before the city was incorporated.

By one local account, the city's original streets were named after Harley Kern's children and grandchildren.

Harker Heights is the third-largest city in Bell County, after Killeen and Temple, and its population nearly doubled from 17,308 in 2000 to 33,097 at the 2020 census.

Harker Heights has around 12,469 households, and only about 62% of its homes are owner-occupied - a reflection of the many military families who rent while stationed at nearby Fort Hood.

The city's economy is heavily tied to Fort Hood, one of the largest U.S. Army posts in the world, and an estimated 8 percent of the post's off-base personnel lived in Harker Heights in a 1987 study.

In December 1988 Harker Heights annexed the 2,200-acre Comanche Hills utility district, adding almost 3,500 people and growing the townsite from 4,400 to 6,600 acres overnight.

Dana Peak Park, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recreation area with campgrounds, boat ramps, and trails at 3800 Comanche Gap Road in Harker Heights, sits on the shore of Stillhouse Hollow Lake, a 6,430-acre reservoir minutes from the city.

Local students attend Killeen Independent School District schools, including Harker Heights High School.