Western Trail Marker

Coleman began in 1876 when R. J. Clow donated 160 acres on Hords Creek for a county seat, and because it lay on the Western Trail it boomed as a supply and recreation stop for drivers bound for Dodge City. The first courthouse was built of elm lumber from Jim Ned Creek and also held bachelor quarters, a general store, church services and community gatherings. A store moved over from Echo by a man named King saw a cowboy shootout out front, and the dead man was the first burial in the town cemetery.

What the plaque says

This tablet commemorates the Western Trail that passed through Coleman in 1867-1895. D.A.R. Seal. Head of longhorn. "Up the Trail". Erected by the Captain Wm. Buckner Chapter of The Daughters of the American Revolution.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lake Brownwood State Park — 23 mi
  A CCC park on a reservoir that filled in a single flood before its dam was done, with stone cabins, a hilltop dance pavilion and a grand staircase climbed by dancers arriving by boat.

More markers nearby

• Robert M. Coleman — steps away
• Mrs. J. A. B. Miller Public Library Building — steps away
• Colonel James E. McCord — 1.1 mi
• Camp Colorado, C.S.A. — 1.1 mi