Rockport & Fulton
After the Civil War, the Era of the Cattle Barons had begun. And we had some strong contenders: Youngs Coleman, Thomas M. Coleman
(Youngs’ Son), Thomas Henry Mathis & John.
M. Mathis (Both Cousins). And then there was
that guy no one had seen for a while: George
Fulton. You see, the Fulton’s had high-tailed it
out of Texas back in 1846 to go live in Steubenville, Ohio - Geroge’s hometown. Then Fulton
moved to Baltimore and went to work for the
Baltimore Sun. And quite significantly, he also
found employment with several Railroad Companies. (Fulton owned a Patent for ‘Artificially
Cooled Beef’, and another for a ‘Steam Engine
Modification’.)
In 1871, these four Cattle Barons combined
their private landholdings and formed the Coleman, Mathis, Fulton Cattle Company. In 1879,
the Company was split up - partly because of
a drought and mostly because of over spending and dissagreements within the Company.
The Mathis boys did well in the deal, receiving
47,000 acres of land as their compensated interest.
Minus the Mathis Cousins, Fulton, Youngs
and Coleman formed the Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company (Est.1879), which endured until
1930.
U.S. Silver Dollar
‘Seated Liberty’
(1836–1873)
87
LORE: In 1927, the Longhorn (a Texas Icon & once wild Bovine) was saved
from extinction by the United States
Forest Service.
LORE: Rockport was named for a
rocky ledge underlying its shore, which
was a local landmark called Rocky
Point.
LORE: Rockport was incorporated as
a Town in 1870, and John Mathis served
as the first Mayor. A year later, it was
incorporated as a City.
LORE: In 1866, the two Mathis Cousins and James Doughty built Cattle Pens
with a huge Wharf (at Rocky Point) that
went well out into the Aransas Bay.