136 years ago, Jim Coleman’s great-grandparents bought 15 acres in rural Fayette County. As freed slaves, James and Lucy Coleman turned to the Union Benevolent Society for a $1200 loan to purchase the land on March 27, 1888.
Jim says his great-grandfather had served in the Union Army’s 5th Colored Infantry, and their courage during a battle in Louisiana helped President Lincoln push for more black soldiers in the Union ranks.
James and Lucy Coleman raised six children, including Jim’s grandfather John who along with his wife Mollie would take over running the family farm in 1910. Later in 1950 Jim’s father and mother, Sam and Cleo Coleman, took the reins of operating the farm.
