Up until about 1875, Belle Mead was part of Harlingen. It was a quiet farming region when about that time a New York contractor named Vanaken bought up all the local farms and set out to develop a city. He had the farms laid out into lots, some streets put through and named after the style of New York.
Harbor Freight Tools. Harbor Freight Tools is a privately held discount tool and equipment retailer, headquartered in Calabasas, California, which operates a chain of retail stores as well as a mail-order and eCommerce business. The company has over 700 stores in 47 states, offering over 7,000 tools and related products.
Harbor Freight was founded in 1977 as a mail-order business by Eric Smidt and his father, Allan, in a small North Hollywood building, as Harbor Freight & Salvage Co. The company changed its name to Harbor Freight Tools and, in 1980, opened its first retail store in Lexington, Kentucky.n 1980, Harbor Freight opened its first retail store in Lexington, Kentucky, to sell returned merchandise from its mail order business. The venture proved successful, and Harbor Freight began to open stores across the United States. As of 2015, Harbor Freight operates over 600 retail stores in 47 states.