HistoricSiteMarkers
Reconstruction & Gilded Age

Rincon Ranch

Gregory, San Patricio County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Youngs Coleman and his son, Thomas, established a south Texas ranching empire in the 1850's. The headquarters of their operation was here at Rincon where there was a fresh water depression. In 1871 the Colemans joined with George W. Fulton and T.H. and J.M. Mathis to form what became the Coleman-Fulton pasture company. The headquarters remained at Rincon and the ranch included a main house, worker housing, a school, commissary, and numerous other outbuildings. President William Howard Taft visited Rincon in 1909. The company was dissolved in the 1920's.

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

In the 1850s Youngs Coleman and his son Thomas built a sprawling south Texas cattle operation centered on this spot, chosen for its freshwater depression. In 1871 the Colemans partnered with George W. Fulton and the Mathis brothers to create the Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company, whose Rincon headquarters grew into a small settlement with a main house, worker housing, a school, and a commissary. The ranch was prominent enough that President William Howard Taft visited in 1909 before the company dissolved in the 1920s.

Why it matters

Rincon represents the great cattle empires that defined the economy and identity of south Texas in the decades after the Civil War.

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Related people

  • · Youngs Coleman
  • · Thomas Coleman
  • · George W. Fulton
  • · William Howard Taft

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionIndustry & InventionFrontier HistoryLandmark

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