Water of Coleman County- General Histories

The county is a part of the Colorado River Basin, and is drained by two well-defined water systems with the Santa Anna Mountains on the dividing line. The Colorado River and its tributaries - Grape, Elm, Panther, Bull, Camp, Home, Hay, and Mukewater Creeks form one source of drainage, with Home Creek furnishing the major supply. The northern part is drained by the Jim Ned, which has its source in Taylor County and empties into Pecan Bayou in Brown County and is fed by Hords, Indian, Cow, Turtle Bayou, Rough, Buffalo, Watts, and Mud Creeks. Even with all of this potential water, Coleman County has always been known as a dry county, due mainly to the lack of rain. As people began to settle the county, they dug wells and cisterns, if they were not fortunate enough to settle near a creek or stream.

"On the Beautiful Colorado" - about 1900.
Near Leaday, old Day Ranch house in background,
now (1985) home of Mr. and Mrs. Elmo Hudson, foreman of Miller Ranch.

Early dam on Hords Creek, east of Coleman

All of the early towns dug wells for their first water supplies, but proved to be inadequate. Stock tanks were dug later on, and beginning in the 1930's many larger tanks and lakes were built. Today, many of the smaller towns of the county have their own lakes; Santa Anna has Lake Sealy and Lake San Tana; and Coleman has Memory Lake (Old Coleman Lake), Lake Scarborough, Hords Creek Lake, and Lake Coleman. (See Coleman Water Supply for more information) Santa Anna also takes much of its water from Lake Brownwood. The old Coleman City Lake (renamed Memory Lake in 1976 when it was redeveloped as a recreation area) was built about 1910. Lake Scarborough (50 surface acres) was built in 1928 and with it, Coleman's first filtration plant. Hords Creek Lake (510 surface acres) was constructed in 1948 and the filtration plant on the hill was built. Lake Coleman (2000 surface acres) was completed in 1966. Soon after Lake Coleman was completed, a new water storage tank was built, in addition to the three tanks already in use, gave Coleman a storage capacity of 1,275,000 gallons of water. Lake Coleman and Hords Creek Lake are the only two lakes supplying water to Coleman, but with 48,640 acre-feet of water, they can supply over 4 million gallons per day. With this water supply, treated water is piped to the south, west, and northwest parts of the county. So you see, Coleman County is really a "Land of the Lakes."

Lake on Hords Creek. near Coleman - 1912	Lake Scarborough
Coleman Lake-1968	Memory Lake - 1978

With as many creeks, streams, and a river in our county, it very early became necessary to get to the other side. There are several cemeteries here that were started because the creek was up, and could not be crossed. In the early days of the county, crossings were made when the creeks and river went down.

Coleman County Bridge of the 1930s	Bridge built in 1913 over Home Creek, north of Whon, before road was rerouted further west and paved
The old bridge to Burkett	Jim Ned Creek at Echo Bridge, during flood stage, August 3, 1978

Crossings on the Colorado River included Trap, Gin (at Leaday), Brady Bend, Cranes, Smith, Flat Rock, Dead Mans, Hays (Beef Trail), Connor, Johnsons, Chaffin, Old Walker, Old Knight, Mitchell, and Military. It was felt well before 1900 that the river was a barrier to Coleman County in annexing trade in Concho and McCulloch Counties. The Coleman Commercial Club (later Chamber of Commerce), cooperating with the Commissioners' Court of Coleman County, proposed about 1900 that a bridge be built near Leaday in order to improve trade.

Flat slab crossing

The Waldrip Bridge in the 1960s

Before this time, January 23, 1894, county commissioners awarded a contract to George D. King Bridge Co., of Des Moines, Iowa at a cost to Coleman County of $6,175. It was to be located about a mile below (east of the old beef trail crossing, which was also the crossing on the Coleman to Brady road. There was a town called Waldrip on the McCulloch County side, which was started in 1879, so the bridge became known as Waldrip Bridge. The length of the bridge was 664½ feet. Piers were built of rock, and the bridge had a superstructure of wrought iron and steel trusses. Flood delayed the completion and it was finished Janaury 23, 1895. Then the flood of August 6, 1906 came, the water was measured at 65 feet, five feet higher than the bridge. Everything was washed away, except the rock piers, which were used to support a new bridge. About this time, bridges were being built over many creeks in the county, so the Waldrip bridge was not rebuilt until November 17, 1910, when a contract was given to Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company of Leavensworth, Kansas. Their contract was to rebuild the Waldrip Bridge and also build a bridge at Connor Crossing near Stacy (called Stacy Bridge). Floods came again in September 1936 and the Waldrip Bridge was again lost. This time the Newton Bridge Company dismantled the main span of the old Milburn Bridge in McCulloch County (built in 1893) and moved it to the Waldrip site. Waldrip was on the road to Brady until 1932, when the road was moved, to pass through Rockwood and a bridge was built to cross the Colorado south of Rockwood. This road became State Highway 283. The bridge was 22 feet wide and was made up of over 460,000 pounds of steel in the overhead beams and the three overhead spans. As with most old bridges, the Rockwood Bridge was dismantled in June 1983. A new bridge had been built prior to its removal, which is made up of three beams of prestressed concrete, using no steel. Two of these beams are 115 feet long and one is 120 feet, making the bridge 350 feet long. It is 40 feet wide and is two feet lower than the old bridge.

Steam engine used to run the winch, while building the Stacy Bridge	Supports used to build the Stacy Bridge-1910
Pouring concrete for the piers of the Stacy Bridge - 1910	The Stacy Bridge 1915

The old iron Stacy Bridge-favorite courting place for Gouldbusk kids