Coalson-Pullen Colony

Duane's take

The way I tell it follows the official marker for the Coalson-Pullen Colony out here in Kimble County, so let's get into it. Somewhere about three miles northwest of where you're rolling right now, there's a cabin chimney still standing. Just a chimney.

But that old stack of stone has got a story behind it that could keep a campfire burning all night. It was 1866 when Nick and Jennie Coalson opened this place up. Jennie's maiden name was Blackwell, and the two of them had come out of the Menard area looking to make something of this wild stretch of Texas.

And make something they did; stockraising and hunting gave them their livelihood. Now, when the marker tells you their bacon was cured bear meat, let that settle in for a second. Not hog.

Bear. That's the kind of country we're talking about. Things out here were never exactly peaceful.

Indians regularly stole horses from the Coalsons; that wasn't a one-time thing, that was life on this land. But December of 1870 is when the story turns serious. Nick Coalson and a man named Charlie Mann had gone out hunting.

The cabin was left in Jennie's care. And that's exactly when the attack came. A ranch hand named Joe Harris was killed.

Let that land the way it should: a man lost his life that day on this ground. But Jennie Coalson was not done. She put on man's attire, and she held off those Indians until her husband returned.

Not for a minute, not for a moment; she held the line. The marker doesn't dress that up, and neither will I. That woman stood her ground in one of the hardest ways a person can be asked to.

In time, Coalson sold the ranch. The man who bought it was Dr. Asa Pullen (a surveyor, a Civil War veteran) and he brought his wife Juliet, born a Gilliland, along with their six daughters.

Six daughters on a ranch carved out of this hill country. The Pullens put down roots deep enough that many of their descendants are still living in Kimble County to this day. One chimney.

One colony. Two families. And the kind of story this land has a way of keeping.

What the marker says

(cabin chimney at site, about 3 mi. NW) Opened 1866 by Nick and Jennie (Blackwell) Coalson, who moved from Menard area. Stockraising and hunting provided livelihood. Their "bacon" was cured bear meat. Indians often stole horses, and in Dec. 1870 attacked cabin when Coalson and Charlie Mann had gone hunting. Ranch hand Joe Harris was killed. Mrs. Coalson in man's attire held off Indians until her husband returned. Later Coalson sold the ranch to surveyor - Civil War veteran Dr. Asa Pullen and wife Juliet (Gilliland), who had 6 daughters. Many descendants of this family still live in Kimble County.