Coleman County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the U.S. state of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. 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 parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

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 form ...

and soldier at the Battle of San Jacinto.

History

Around 10,000 BC,

indigenous peoples of the Americas In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

were the first inhabitants. Later inhabitants included the Jumano,

Lipan Apache Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan languages, Southern Athabaskan Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people, who have lived in the Oasisamerica, Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European ...

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

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

. In 1650, Captains Hernán Martín and Diego del Castillo explored the western portion of the county to the Concho River, and returned with pearls. Diego de Guadalajara followed the same path as Martín and Castillo in 1654. From 1683 to 1684, Juan Domínguez de Mendoza 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. 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 and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

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 Municipalities of Norway, municipality and a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages inclu ...

. 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 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, and Clovis. This linked its California lines with the Texas Gulf Coast and put Coleman on the road's main line. 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 farmers 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 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 (west) * Taylor County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

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 (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . The 5,248 housing units averaged . The racial makeup 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 average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

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 ...

, 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

CDP

* Valera

Unincorporated communities

* Burkett * Echo * Fisk * Glen Cove * Goldsboro * Gouldbusk * Rockwood * Silver Valley * Talpa * Trickham *

* Webbville * Whon

Ghost towns

* Obregon * San Angelo Junction * Shields

Politics

At the presidential level, Coleman County voted predominantly for the Democratic candidate from

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

through

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, with that tendency changing when native son Dwight D. Eisenhower ran successfully in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

. Thenceforth, GOP candidates have carried the county in most campaigns, with increasingly wide margins in the 21st century.

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, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

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