1845-1880

          Albert Barton, along with wife Elizabeth and two small children, her mother and brother, moved in 1850 to the mouth of Steele Creek across from Fort Graham.  Albert Barton built a ferry in 1851 and raised corn to sell to the fort.  The ferry was capsized by one of the notorious Brazos “rises” (sudden and violent rush of water) and Albert and 3 others were drowned.  Elizabeth stayed and continued to sell corn to the fort.  In 1853 she married the dashing Sam Barnes, Texas Ranger and Indian tracker for the 2nd Dragoons stationed at Fort Graham.  She was the first settler in Bosque County and is buried in Kopperl Cemetery.

          Jacob De Cordova was born in Jamaica in 1808.  His father was a coffee merchant and newspaper printer.  After the death of his mother, he was sent to England to be raised by his aunt.  He became a trader in New Orleans and made many trips to Texas, eventually immigrating in 1839.  His photograph was hung in every Odd Fellow Lodge in Texas because he installed early members in the first IOOF lodge formed outside the United States.  He became a successful land agent often referred to as the “man who sold Texas.”  De Cordova was agent for New Yorker Richard Kimball, buying up over 14,000 acres along the Brazos in Bosque Territory.  He travelled as far as Europe touting the marvels of Texas.  In England, he impressed many future immigrants by painting a picture of commerce, industry, and the navigational quality of the Brazos River.  The Universal Emigration and Colonization Company was created with the famous Native American artist George Catlin at its head.  The company and Catlin focused on promoting immigration to a promising colony along the Brazos.  The site of the new colony was eventually selected in October of 1851 by Sir Edward Belcher who was the director of the English company.  The company purchased 27,000 acres of land from Richard Kimball including modern day Kopperl.  The land stretched 30 miles up the Brazos to Spring Creek.  In September of 1850 the first batch of 117 Settlers departed Liverpool in route to the new lands.  When the settlers arrived from the arduous journey across the Atlantic in November, they discovered they must trek northward almost 300 miles over prairies, limestone cliffs, and rivers, not to mention it was late November in one of the worst winters on record.  When they finally arrived at the new colony which sat just below Soloman's Nose (Where the current railroad bridge crosses the Brazos) there was no shelter, no food, no supplies-just wide-open wilderness.  The new colony was named Kent.  Many of the immigrants were business and professional people, without the survival skills needed for this wilderness.  Other families were already on their way from England, with no way to warn them. They scraped by for a year before giving up; those who could afford the passage returned to England.  The rest moved to more settled locations.  When the colony failed the land reverted back to Cordova and Kimball.  More detailed information on Kent is to be written and can be found by clicking here.

          Settlers began moving into Bosque Territory and by 1854 the citizens petitioned for a county.  State Legislature approved the petition and formed Bosque County on February 4, 1854.  After the failure of Kent, Richard Kimball, Jr. an attorney, was sent by his father to establish another settlement along the Brazos.  De Cordova surveyed and platted a settlement called Kimball Village.  Kimball grew quickly, one of the earliest successful communities in the new county.  Richard Kimball made a plantation, with interesting ideas.  Slaves were assigned “families” and each family was given a house, a garden and a poodle to keep rabbits out of the garden.  Each house had a differently colored door; if you were assigned to the green door, that was your family, and you didn’t “visit” the red door unless under strict social occasions.
By 1860 Kimball was a booming place.  Cotton, wheat and corn were doing well; there was a post office and several merchants, a newspaper, a ferry, a doctor and 6 saloons.  The Masons built the first public building that served as a church, school, meeting place, polling place and Masonic Lodge.  There still were no barges bringing trade on the river, but the famous Chisholm Trail decided to cross the Brazos at Kimball.  Many thousands of cattle were driven across the Brazos during the heyday of the cattle trail at Kimball Village.  A local man built a holding pin near the river.  When the gate was opened the lead cow would go into the water first.  If she became spooked or the water was too deep, the cowboys would dunk her head under for a few minutes and when she came up and saw the bank, she took off for dry land with the rest of the herd in tow.  Many of the youth would wait on the waters edge and ride the swimming cattle across the river for fun.  The herds were so large the school children would put their ears to the ground and could tell how close the herds were.  Kimball had a cemetery, which was moved out of the flood plain when Lake Whitney was built.  The oldest grave is James McDonald, 1868.  Kimball flourished until the railroad bypassed it. Jacob and Rebecca De Cordova, who donated land and supported the village, were moved from Kimball Cemetery in 1938 and buried in the State Cemetery in Austin.  After the War Between the States, De Cordova had designed and started construction of a steam powered cotton gin, but he died before the plans were put in place.  After the railroad came through, Richard Kimball, a successful attorney, moved his family and law practice to Meridian.

          Green Powell bought land near the mouth of Mesquite Creek to the other side of Powelldale Mountains in 1854.  He built a rock house with no windows that served as protection against Indian attacks.  His creativity allowed him to build an elaborate grist mill which served people for many miles.  There was also a cotton gin.  A post office opened in 1873 and closed in 1881.  The post office served as a store, church and school.  Ed Nichols rode his horse to attend this school for many years.  This school consolidated with Kopperl soon after the railroad was completed.  A ferry was started and was a great service for people wanting to trade at Fort Graham.  Thomas Hunt bought the mill in later years.  Mr. Hunt had an interesting history in Texas.  He was a special ranger who accompanied the Santa Fe Expedition in 1841.  The expedition ironically came through the very area on which Mr. Hunt settled later.  He was captured outside of Santa Fe by the Mexican Army and marched all the way to Mexico City.  Those that survived the march were held in dungeons for three years until the United States intervened with Mexican authorities, and the prisoners shipped back to Galveston.  Powelldale is located off CR 1270.  The mountains are known as the Powelldale Mountains, or sometimes the Three Sisters.  The cemetery at Powelldale was moved to Kimball Cemetery when the land was flooded by Lake Whitney.  The earliest grave for Powelldale was Sheba Speer, 1871. 

          Gilbert Greer bought a large tract of land in the A. P. Thompson survey in 1856. This tract followed Plowman Creek and most of present day Kopperl.  They opened up a beautiful and peaceful area near the creek for neighbors to picnic, known as Greer Park.  Greer Park lasted many decades and was commonly visited by tourists from all around the country.  The train would stop while in route to Blum from the Kopperl depot and let visitors out to spend the day at the park.  The park was located near where the old railroad bridge crossed Plowman Creek.

          Fort Graham was closed in 1854.  The U. S. Army deemed the threat of Indian problems was controlled enough in the area, they moved forts further north and west.  They forgot to tell the Comanche.  By 1858 the Army had officially moved all native tribes across the Red River. They forgot to tell the Comanche, again.