Flat Top, Texas, Coleman County. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

The community was founded by early settler Richard Coffey around 1882. Coffey was very influential in SW Coleman County, raising cattle, defending against Indian raids and even venturing into �town building� in an indirect way by opening a store / post office and saloon.

Coffey enclosed the bunkhouses he built for his cowboys by erecting a defensive fence. The horizontal roof of the main building gave the community its name.

Flat Top was on the road connecting Forts Belknap and Concho and local ranches used the road to deliver beef-on-the-hoof to the installations.

It also became a changing station for the stage line running between Fort Concho and Brownwood.

The community had a short-lived post office from 1879 to 1881. Although no population records are available, it seems to have peaked around 1881.

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