Coleman County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,684. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Coleman. The county was founded in 1858 and organized in 1864. It is named for Robert M. Coleman, a signer of the

Texas Declaration of Independence The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, and was formal ...

and soldier at the

Battle of San Jacinto The Battle of San Jacinto ( es, Batalla de San Jacinto), fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Pasadena, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engaged ...

History

Around 10,000 BC,

indigenous peoples of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

were the first inhabitants. Later inhabitants included the

Jumano Jumanos were a tribe or several tribes, who inhabited a large area of western Texas, New Mexico, and northern Mexico, especially near the Junta de los Rios region with its large settled Indigenous population. They lived in the Big Bend area in ...

Lipan Apache Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan Indigenous people, who have lived in the Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European and African contact, they lived in New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and ...

, and

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

. In 1632, Father Salas led an expedition to the upper

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

. In 1650, Captains Hernán Martín and Diego del Castillo explored the western portion of the county to the

Concho River The Concho River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. ''Concho'' is Spanish for "shell"; the river was so named due to its abundance of freshwater mussels, such as the Tampico pearly mussel ('' Cyrtonaias tampicoensis''). Geography The Con ...

, and returned with pearls.

Diego de Guadalajara The Diego de Guadalajara expedition of 1654 was a Spanish expedition dispatched to follow up on the finding of freshwater pearls from pearl mussels in the Concho River in what is now Texas. Although results were disappointing, the expedition led to ...

followed the same path as Martín and Castillo in 1654. From 1683 to 1684,

Juan Domínguez de Mendoza Juan Domínguez de Mendoza (born 1631) was a Spanish soldier who played an important role in suppressing the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and who made two major expeditions from New Mexico into Texas. Early career Juan Domínguez de Mendoza was born in ...

established a short-lived Quicuchabe mission. In 1855, the county's oldest community, Trickham, was founded as a trading post for the ranching activities of

John Chisum John Simpson Chisum (August 16, 1824 – December 23, 1884) was a wealthy cattle baron in the American West in the mid-to-late 19th century. He was born in Hardeman County, Tennessee, and moved with his family to the Republic of Texas in 1837, ...

. Coleman County was formed from

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...

and Travis Counties in 1858. The county is named for Robert M. Coleman, a signer of the

. In 1861, Rich Coffey settled the communities of Leaday and

Voss Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, ...

. In 1876, the site was chosen for Coleman, the county seat. The community of Santa Anna was established in 1879. It is named after the Santa Anna Mountains, which in turn, are named after Comanche Chief Santana. In 1886, the

Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...

completed a spur to Coleman from nearby Coleman Junction (now San Angelo Junction). In 1908, the county's first oil well came in near Trickham. In 1914, the Santa Fe completed the Coleman Cutoff between Coleman,

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

, and Clovis. This linked its California lines with the Texas Gulf Coast and put Coleman on the road's

main line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

. Coleman's distinctive brick-and-stucco Santa Fe depot was completed in 1915. Oil was discovered north of Coleman on the J. P. Morris ranch in 1917. The Coleman County Medical Center opened in 1923. By 1925,

tenant farmer A tenant farmer is a person (farmer or farmworker) who resides on land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management, ...

s comprised 63% of local agriculture. In 1930, the Coleman County population peaked at 23,669. The Coleman County oilfields produced over a million barrels in 1948. In 2000, Wind Clean Corporation, harnessing energy from wind power, was founded.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (1.5%) are covered by water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 67 * U.S. Highway 84 * U.S. Highway 283 * State Highway 153 * State Highway 206

Adjacent counties

* Callahan County (north) * Brown County (east) * McCulloch County (south) * Concho County (southwest) *

Runnels County Runnels County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 9,900. Its county seat is Ballinger. The county was created in 1858 and later organized in 1880. It is named for Hiram G. Runnels, a Texa ...

(west) * Taylor County (northwest)

Demographics

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.'' As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, 9,235 people, 3,889 households, and 2,609 families resided in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 7 people per square mile (3/km²). The 5,248 housing units averaged 4 per square mile (2/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 88.53% White, 2.19% African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 6.53% from other races, and 1.91% from two or more races. About 14% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 3,889 households, 27.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.80% were married couples living together, 9.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.90% were not families; 30.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33, and the average family size was 2.88. In the county, the population was distributed as 23.60% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 22.70% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 23.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $25,658, and for a family was $31,168. Males had a median income of $25,993 versus $17,378 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $14,911. About 15.50% of families and 19.90% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 27.40% of those under age 18 and 14.90% of those age 65 or over.

Education

These school districts serve Coleman County: * Bangs ISD (mostly in Brown County) * Coleman ISD * Cross Plains ISD (mostly in Callahan County; small portions in Eastland and Brown Counties) * Panther Creek Consolidated ISD (small portion in Runnels County) * Santa Anna ISD

Communities

Cities

* Coleman (county seat) *

Novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

Town

Santa Anna Santa Anna may refer to: * Santa Anna, Texas, a town in Coleman County in Central Texas, United States * Santa Anna, Starr County, Texas * Santa Anna Township, DeWitt County, Illinois, one of townships in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. ...

Unincorporated communities

* Burkett * Goldsboro * Gouldbusk * Rockwood *

Talpa Talpa may refer to: Places * Talpa, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * Talpa, Teleorman, a commune in Teleorman County, Romania * Talpa, a village in Cândeşti Commune, Botoşani County, Romania * Talpa, a village in Bârgăuani Com ...

Valera Valera is a city in Trujillo State in Venezuela, situated between the rivers Momboy and Motatán. The mayor is José Karkom, who has had that post since 2013. The city is home to Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Colombian and Spanish communit ...

Politics

References

External links

Coleman County government's website

Coleman County in ''Handbook of Texas Online''
at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Historic Coleman County materials
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History.
{{Coord, 31.77, -99.45, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1864 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1864