J. E. Stevens Co., one of Coleman's pioneer firms has operated here since 1890 - ninety-three years under the ownership and operation of J. E. Stevens family.

     J. E. Stevens came to Texas after the Civil War and opened his first store in Kinney, then moved it to DeLeon in 1883.  After buying a business in 1889 in Coleman, he moved here in 1890 and ran the store himself.  His first store in Coleman was in its present location.

     This block at that time was known as the "Central Block." About 1895 he began a series of four moves before returning to its original site.  The first move was to the 200 block of Commercial and the second to the block west of the court house adjoining the old bank building.  There was an east, west, and south entrance forming an L shape around the bank building.  In 1907 they moved into the middle of the 100 block on Commercial,  Finally in 1909 it was moved back to the original site on Live Oak Street and has remained there.  The Central Block burned while the J. E. Stevens Co. was elsewhere so they were fortunate to have avoided that disaster.  There was an old boardwalk in front of the store in those early days.  Boardwalks were a welcome retreat from the muddy street when it rained.

     J. E. Stevens took his sons, Will, Tom, and Frank, into the business as they came of age.  The business had started with hardware and a tin shop.  Furniture was added in 1897 and the funeral home in 1907.  The tin shop was a big operation in those early days.  Eight men worked in the shop molding tin for roofs and gutters and later building over-head water storage tanks.  The tin shop remained an important department of the business until the late 1950's.

     In 1909, Mr. Stevens built the rear of the store to a two-story level.  As the years passed, the floor space was expanded.  In 1924, the brick building was added to the south to house the furniture.  In 1932 they acquired the building on the northeast corner formerly occupied by the post office.  Later they purchased the building to the west.

     At the turn of the century, cotton was an important Coleman County crop.  The Coleman Voice dated December 24, 1909, listed Coleman County population as 30,000 people.  It further stated that this county was leading every county in Texas in the production of cotton.  Usually there were 40,000 to 60,000 bales of cotton ginned each year.  Will Stevens became quite an authority on grading cotton.  The merchants in town would buy and sell the cotton to help the farmers pay their bills.  Will did the buying for the store and would sell it to the brokers in Galveston and New Orleans.  Transactions with the brokers were made by telephone and telegraph.  Santa Fe Railroad carried the bales to Galveston and other points.  The store also sold farm implements at that time.  They represented J. I. Case and John Deere and for many years these were horse-drawn implements.

     Mr. Stevens' youngest son, Frank, wanted to be a mortician.  He went to mortuary school and returned in 1907 and became the mortician for his firm.

     J. E. Stevens retired about 1914.  However, he was always up and driving his spirited horse and buggy to the store until the time of his death in 1916.  Mrs. Stevens continued as a partner in the business.

     By 1925 the boys had a yen to sell the store and go into the ranching business.  Clyde Edens of Gouldbusk purchased the store and the Stevens boys were making arrangements to purchase the Coggin Ranch in Brown County at $20.00 per acre.  The deal amounted to $124,960.  Tom Stevens became very disturbed about their having sold their father's business, so a deal was made with Clyde Edens to repurchase it.  The boys had to forfeit the escrow they had put up on the ranch.

     The boys' mother, Mrs. J. E. Stevens, died in October 1925.  About this time Frank purchased a funeral home and furniture store in Sweetwater.  He and his wife moved to Sweetwater.  The three boys continued as partners and soon acquired a business in Brady along with W. W. Gober.  Mr. Gober ran this store.  The businesses prospered until the depression.

     In 1930 the Brady business was closed.  In 1935 the Sweetwater store was sold and Frank moved back to Coleman.  The Coleman store survived the depression.

     In 1936 Tom became very ill with a malignancy and died in November of that year.  His widow, Salome B. Stevens, continued as a partner until her death in October 1967.

     By 1930 two of Will's children, Joe and Frances, began working in the business - Joe in hardware and Frances in furniture.  Along with furniture, a good drapery and china business were developed.

     Gladys Townsen was employed as a bookkeeper in 1918.  She was a most efficient and loyal employee.  She remained with the company for 52 years.  The Stevens family loved her dearly and considered her a part of their family.

     The Stevens men were ever aware of the need of progress in their business.  In 1940, Will Stevens met with a number of Texas hardware merchants in Dallas and organized a stock company for volume buying.  The slogan for this company was "True Value Merchandise."  This company later merged with Gotter & Co. headquartered in Chicago.  J. E. Stevens hardware department continues as a stockholder in this company.  Merchandise is distributed from their Corsicana Warehouse and market is held twice a year in Chicago.

     Joe Stevens was a very ardent partner in the hardware business.  He worked with the state and national hardware associations and served as president of Texas Hardware Association in 1953-54.  Joe was also very civic-minded.  He loved Coleman County and all its people, being always aware of helping the community grow and progress.  He was honored as the Man of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce in 1974.

     In September, 1951, Stevens' warehouse burned.  It was located just east of the railway station on East College Avenue.  Thousands of dollars of merchandise was lost in this fire.  The loss included the original horse-drawn hearse first used in the company's funeral business.

     In 1941, Frank Stringer, husband of Mary Alice Stevens, joined the firm.  Soon after World War II, Bill Bennett became one of the first war veterans to be employed.  He remained as a very faithful employee for over thirty years.

     Sarah Lu Stevens Gardner and her husband, Jim Gardner, came to work in the office and hardware department in 1959. Frank  Stevens passed away December, 1962, and Will in January, 1963.  At this time, Mary Alice Stringer also came to help in the office.  During the next ten years, the business was operated by Will Stevens' children, a third generation of the family.  Frank Stringer passed away in May 1972.

     In 1974, Mary Frances Stevens Johnson, daughter of Joe Stevens, a 4th generation family member, came to help in the store office.  Joe died suddenly in 1976.  He had spent most of his time at the funeral home the past few years.  However, he always checked at the store office each day.  Judy, Jane, Joseph, and Joan Johnson, children of Mary Fran and Don Johnson helped some in the store during their school vacation times.  In June, 1980, Mary Frances Johnson died.

     At the time of this writing all the third generation Stevens children have retired.  Today the fifth generation, Jane, and her husband, Larry Boubel, are managers of the firm.

     Through the years there have been many ups and downs for the company, but we, the Stevens Family, are most grateful to have had the opportunity of knowing, loving, and serving the community of Coleman and the surrounding areas.