Dr. Preston C. Coleman

Dr. Coleman's rounds took him as far as Lubbock and Midland, and over the years he delivered more than 2,000 babies. He also saw what oil could do for his town. He urged landowners to lease their land to oil companies, sometimes serving as an unpaid go-between, and the Petroleum Hall of Fame credits him with a large part in opening the Westbrook field in 1920, the discovery that began commercial oil production in the Permian Basin. He was born in 1853 and died in 1932; the Hall of Fame inducted him in 1989.

What the plaque says

Dr. Preston C. Coleman Born in Tennessee. Graduated from University of Louisville (Ky.). Coming in 1883 to Colorado City, rode horseback or by buggy to ranches in 100-mile radius, practicing here rest of his life. Religion, medicine, and education were his chief concerns. He was a Texas & Pacific Railroad surgeon; 1895-96 President, Texas Medical Association; a Fellow, American College of Surgeons; an Elder in his church; Moderator, 1930, Texas Presbyterian Synod; Trustee 1906-31, Austin College (Sherman); Vice President for Life, West Texas Chamber of Commerce; was called "Father of Texas Tech University". (1972)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Heart of West Texas Museum — steps away
  Colorado City's museum in a restored downtown house, from a mammoth dug up at Lake Champion in 2001 to an Ice Age bison and the wartime telegrams sent to a local family.
• Lake Colorado City State Park — 5.9 mi
  A mesquite-plains park on a lake built in 1949 to cool a power plant, southwest of Colorado City, where controlled burns are bringing back the grassland and 300 bird species pass through.
• Scurry County Museum — 20 mi
  Snyder's county museum on the Western Texas College campus, with the rifle used to shoot the white buffalo, an 1878 chuckwagon and the millionth barrel of the Canyon Reef oil boom.
• National WASP WWII Museum — 24 mi
  Hangar 1 at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, where the women of the WASP trained to fly every aircraft in the Army's arsenal in World War II, then waited thirty-three years to be called veterans.

More markers nearby

• Buffalo Trails — steps away
• First Baptist Church of Colorado City — steps away
• Texas & Pacific Railway — 0.2 mi
• The Founding of Colorado City — 0.3 mi