Judge Donna Rays & husband Eddie Burrows

Palo Alto College

San Antonio, Texas

Coughran, Texas

Giovan Cavazos Spring, 2006
U.S. History 1302 R. Hines, Instructor

The town of Coughran, in Atascosa County, was founded in 1913 by W.A. Coughran, who went by the name of "Abe." According to the Pleasanton Express together, Abe and his brother Benton bought 8,151 acres of land. On December 12,1912 Abe bought his brothers share of the land. A minister from Floresville went to take a look at Abe' new land and said, "What a beautiful place for a town." Mr. Coughran paid $15,000 to the San Antonio, Uvalde Gulf and Railroad Company to run railroad tracks through his town, Coughran. Judge Donna Rayes told of a Mr. H.I. Eichelberger. Eichelberger paid the railroad company to add some side tracks to the main tracks and he fixed up an old observation Pullman and had it redecorated by a Helen Norris who decorated it with "lavish style and taste (The San Antonio Light, October 17, 1971)." Judge Rayes told me that Eichelberger would hook up his pullman to the train that would go through Coughran and would take out of state joy rides with a Maria Acevedo. According to the Pleasanton Express, Eichelberger imported buffalo and had them graze around his buffalo roaming.

Big Oak Antique Complex for entertainment(The Pleasanton Express, February 24, 1982). Abe Coughran's plan was to build a town around the tracks and sell off lots to people who planned to build homes there. Coughran planned to build and build he did (Pleasanton Express,Aug. 17, 1983).

Coughran's town consisted of a bank and two stores, one larger than the other; all three buildings were made of concrete. The smaller store building contained a creamery and the larger store contained a post office. Coughran drilled an Artesian well in 1912 and water until this day still flows from it (San Antonio Express, August 17,1983). Coughran also built a few houses to get people to notice and gain interest in his town. The San Antonio Express News claims that there have never been more than twenty-five or thirty families in Coughran. In 1801 the bank was run by a Mr. Ward...I was told by one of the current owners, Judge Rayes, that there was a story told to her of the person who ran the bank for Coughran and swindled quite a bit of money and got away with it with the help of the train; this is what supposedly lead to the demise of the bank and contributed to the demise of the town. The only roads Coughran had were the gaming trails or the ones that the people who resided in Coughran had made themselves.

Once Coughran acquired a cotton gin, farmers from Atascosa County who at one time would take their cotton goods to either Pleasanton or Floresville, which ever was closer started to go to Coughran for their needs. The railroad and the cotton gin together played an enormous role in the growth of Coughran. class od 28 The rapid growth of the town was unexpected, so school was held in a back room that was located in the creamery. Old Coughran Bridge The school was later expanded and made into a two-room school because of population growth. The school never needed to be any larger because the highest enrollment they had was about 50 students (San Antonio Express July3, 1968). The Coughran school closed in 1956 (Wilson County News).

A low water bridge was built over the Atascosa River in 1910 but was only useful for three years due to a flood. A concrete bridge was built to replace the one that was deemed unsafe. Since a contractor by the name of Clyde Ormand, who lived in Coughran, built some California Bungalows people started buying property from Coughran. The depression that struck towards the end of World War I took a big toll on Coughran's personal finances, and the horrible drought didn’t help. Mr.Coughran’s creditors ended up with his land and livestock. Coughran was hit hard and unable to recover.

The room in the creamery wasn’t cutting it any longer. There were too many children for such a small teaching facility. Thus, the residents and Atascosa County had a one room schoolhouse built somewhere around 1924. In 1933 the schoolhouse would consist of two rooms.

Charles Hankins bought the land in Coughran in 1927 and citizens were dumbfounded when they were informed that he had bought the whole town. The Hankins converted the Coughran hotel into their new home. During the Great Depression jobs were scarce and there was little money in circulation. Canning classes and mattress making classes were provided by the government to help people preserve food and do something useful with the cotton they were unable to sell.

Though the Hankins were in the midst of a depression they were still operating the gin, cattle and dairy were still being shipped on a regular basis. Coughran survived the Great Depression and did wonders for Atascosa’s economy. Unfortunately the government put a stop to the cotton subsidy programs and again Coughran took a hard hit. The Hankins ran one of the stores until 1931, Hankins Store

when they arranged for the Clyburns to manage the store. The Clyburns sold the remaining inventory to Maude Atchley who took over the store from 1933-1943. Lucille May Hankins talks about her life and managing Coughran:

Events of the Lives of Charles Lynwood Hankins and Lucille May Hankins and Children

In 1942 the Hankins put Coughran back on the market and sold it one or two years later to Walter Allercamp. The Allercamps operated the remaining store in Coughran for about 25 years, when they decided to move near their children, just north of San Antonio (San Antonio Express, July 30, 1968). marker In 1998 the Texas Historical Commission put a marker in Coughran. In the year of 1995 Judge Rayes and her husband Eddie Burrows purchased Coughran and are the current owners. Judge Rayes and Mr.Burrows had to do a great deal renovating to the buildings but it paid off they look great! What used to be a general store, school, and creamery was turned into a bed and breakfast. The bed and breakfast had an old time feel to it with its stained glass windows, quilts, wooden floors, and antique furniture. The bed and breakfast went for $75 a night, when it was available.

The largest building of the three used to be a general store but is now the “Coughran Hall.” The hall is rented out for wedding receptions, reunions, private parties and meetings for the very reasonable price of $450. If the hall is going to be decorated on Friday an additional $50 will be necessary and the hall is required to be cleaned up by Sunday. The hall can hold up to two hundred guests and has a big dance floor, kitchen, a bandstand with stage lights. The hall has ample of room for dining tables up and down stairs. The tables, chairs, and clean up is included in the rental. In the back of the hall is an outside deck with picnic tables and benches and a quite big barbeque pit. The hall is quite popular and takes moths to get a reservation. The old bank is now used for storage and has not been restored at this point(Donna Rayes & Eddie Burrows 2006).

Once upon a time Coughran had a Baseball team

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Judge Donna Rays and Eddie Burrows,Personal Interview.(2006).
This source was extremely helpful because Judge Rayes and Eddie Burrows are the owners of Coughran and had to also research the town in order to own the historical landmarks. Judge Rayes and Mr. Burrows kept all of their research and told me of stories that were told to them about Coughran.
Pleasanton Express. pp. 5c. "GIVE ME A HOME WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM." February24, 1982. The Pleasanton Express This source provided me with a great image of Eichelberger's buffalo.
Pleasanton Express. pp. 5c-8C. "Coughran Built Foundation on Cotton and Cattle." August 17, 1983.
The Pleasanton Express was a good source because It had some good pictures and provided me with information about everything from the Coughran school to the effect of WWII.
San Antonio Express News. p. 8D. "Move of Store Owner To Result In New South Texas Ghost Town." San Antonio: July 30, 1968.
The San Antonio Express News provided me with information about the Railroad Allerkamps and other necessary information.
The San Antonio Light. p. 14-15. "ALL ABOARD! BUT YOU NEVER RODE IN STYLE LIKE THIS!" sAN ANTONIO: October 17,1971.
The San Antonio Light was the only source that I found with information about H.I. Eichelberger, so it was very much needed information.
Hankins, Lucille. " Events in the Lives of Charles and Lucille Hankins." Pleasanton, Texas. 1985.
I love this source because when you read it you see though Lucille's eyes and perspective and feel like your experiencing everything with her. This souce also tells of the new technology and the great depression.

Coughran, Texas

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