The History of Coleman

            Coleman is a small community located in the eastern part of Johnston County, in southern Oklahoma on Highway 48, 21 miles north of Durant, Oklahoma and about 20 miles east of Tishomingo, Oklahoma, county seat of Johnston County. 

“Coleman has had three town sites.  Originally it was Ego, Indian Territory.  After statehood in 1907, and when the K.O. & G. Railroad came through, the town was moved and renamed “Coleman”, now called Old Coleman.  When the highway came through, the town was again moved to the present location.

            Ego, I.T. was a thriving trading point with five stores, two gins, post office, drug store, restaurant, and blacksmith shop.  The store owners were: Van Moran, Chas. Morgan, Luke Snider, and McGlasson had the drug store.  Fred Emerson had the restaurant.  Mr. Rowsey ran one of the gins.  Firefighting was done by wagon from the Rock Island railroad depot at Wapanucka.  There was a one-room school house.

            Old Coleman had eight general stores, a drug store, hardware store, a restaurant, barber shop, printing press, garage, bank, hotel, lumber yard, livery stable, and two gins.  The store owners were: Vsn Moran, M. L. Moran, F. M. Jones, Joe Price, W . E. Smith, Hiram Morgan, Jake Sullivan, Huddleston, and others. 

            As of this date (June 1973) New Coleman is in existence and known.

            Ego, I. T. was a rough town, having only Territorial laws, and outlaws were common.  On one occasion three outlaws rode their horses across the store porches and shot out all the store windows.  The store owners returned the fire, but no one was killed. 

            The social life was gay at Old Coleman.  There were dances, parties, rodeos, ball games, and band music.  Horseback riding was a favorite sport and so was hunting, and swimming parties.  Many girls and boys visited here from other towns.”

                                                                                                                            Lee Jones

Coleman is a small community located in the eastern part of Johnston County, in southeastern Oklahoma on Highway 48, 21 miles north of Durant, Oklahoma and about 20 miles east of Tishomingo, Oklahoma, county seat of Johnston County.  Ego, as it was called in Indian Territory days, was established in the 1890’s with a population of about 40 persons.  The first businesses of Ego were a blacksmith shop, a gin, a drug store, two doctors’ offices, a barber shop, post office, and cafe.  All being run by local townspeople. 

M. O. & G. Railroad was finished in 1909, the new town was named Coleman for a railroad official, who laid off the town site, in all probability.  Merchants and businesses of Ego started moving to the new town of Coleman.  The new school was built, being completed in 1911, having 10 grades.  The high school was completed to 12 grades in 1925.  The size of the town was about one mile square, at this time.  The surrounding country is basically farming, the chief crops being peanuts and cotton.  Along with World War II came the depression.  Prices dropped to a low and Coleman seemed doomed.  The banks, along with many other businesses, closed and gradually people moved away to bigger cities and better jobs. 

Coleman’s troubles were not over with the depression.  In 1929 fire destroyed most of the empty buildings, then in 1948 a tornado struck the remaining “old” section of Coleman.  Highway 48 was completed west of Coleman in 1938, and all the new buildings were built near it.  Coleman now consists of three stores located on Highway 10, a school, a laundry, a beauty shop, and a Farmer’s Cooperative.  All that remains of a once booming town is the foundations and the old well, which was dug in the middle of the street by the merchants to furnish water for the businesses and for the horses.  Once each year there is an “OLE SETTLERS REUNION”, a day set aside for the people who once lived in and around Coleman, Oklahoma was their home. 

                                                                                            D. J. ( Jackie ) Germany

                                                                                             (Moved to Coleman November 1929)