• Coupland City

    Coupland City was an early day real estate venture, and its promoters were C. H. Welch,  H. Dickson of Taylor and Major Theodore Van Buren Coupland.  The profit from “The Coupland City Company” as the charter was named, was questionable but the town remained.  

    The land upon which Coupland is situated originally was granted to James Crawford by the Supreme Government of the State of Coahuila and Texas as a colonists in Austin’s and Williams’ Colony.  After the land had changed ownership a number of times, it was in May of 1883 that Morgan Hamilton left, to share, a sizeable inheritance of land, cattle and horses to his deceased sister’s (Karen Hamilton Coupland) five children.  Most of them lived in Alabama, but Theodore Coupland being an army man resided in New Orleans.  

    Within a year, this fortune caused Major TV Coupland to move his wife and only son to the site here in Texas.  Their first temporary home was a small square framed house on the south banks of Brushy Creek west of the present town of Coupland.  Oddly enough it still stands, but is unoccupied.  During the time or right thereafter, the Taylor, Bastrop and Houston Railways (Katy) was built and it perhaps served as the incentive to charter the “Coupland City Company”.  

    Two of TV’s brothers, Constantine and James, were still co-owners of the land for the town site.  $2000 was paid to them for 200 acres of land that were to be used on each side of the railroad tracks.  According to an old map date May 12, 1887 the town Coupland was laid out, streets named and also a public square which was never constructed.  The first to purchase lots in the new town was John Goetz Sr. who operated the first post office and general store and was secretary for the Coupland City Corporation.  Since the Couplands furnished the land the town was apparently named for them. Other settlers, mostly of German and Swiss extraction began to move into the community and for some years it flourished; sadly enough the corporation fell apart. 

    Major Coupland died in 1900 and is buried at Taylor; he left his estate in the care of his son Frank Hamilton Coupland.  Two granddaughters of the Major still live in the general area.  Coupland did not turn into the prosperous venture that its promoters hand envisioned, but it’s still on the map and due to its many efforts, it became a lively community rather than growing into a large city.