Established by five South Texas pioneers, the Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company was one of the largest cattle companies formed in Texas. With Colonel George Ware Fulton as the leader of the enterprise, Youngs Coleman, Thomas M. Coleman, Thomas Henry Mathis, and J. M. Mathis formed the Coleman, Mathis, Fulton Cattle Company in Rockport in 1871. Although it began as a cattle-raising endeavor, the company eventually developed secondary businesses, such as a blacksmith shop, a lumber company, and a meatpacking plant. After dissolving eight years later, Thomas Henry Mathis received in a settlement the Henry Bend Ranch and land in Live Oak and Goliad counties, while the other partners formed the Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company. With 167,000 acres mostly in San Patricio County, financial issues led to the company’s acquisition by David Sinton in 1885. Upon his death, Sinton bequeathed the company to his daughter Anna and her husband Charles P. Taft. In 1900, the company became locally known as the Taft Ranch, though its official name remained the Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company until it disbanded in 1930.
Source:
Guthrie, Keith.
Comprised of eleven 7-inch audio reels, the Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company Oral History Collection, 1961, documents the experiences of individuals associated with the company. Individuals interviewed include May Mathis Green Watson, C. J. Meyer, Edward N. Tutt, the Weber family, Elinor Conger, S. Frank Hunt, Henry Schmidt, E. A. Sanders, James C. Russell, John Washington Hunt, and Ben H. Cummins.
This collection is open for research use.
Use of audio material by appointment only; please contact sound archivist for more information.
Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company Oral History Collection, 1961, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s