Ogletree Stagestop and Post Office

After Marsden Ogletree (1819-1896) and his family migrated from Georgia, he recieved a land grant in 1878. Inscriptions on two stones in this house indicate the structure was erected the same year. It served as the family home, grain store, and stopping place for the Lampasas to Belton stagecoach. Since the mail arrived by stage, a post office was opened here in 1879 with Ogletree as postmaster. Legend says that the settlement received the name "Coperas Cove" from a copperas-tasting spring in the cove of a nearby mountain. Samuel Gilmore served as the second Postmaster. In 1881 Gilmore's father-in-law Jesse M. Clements (1822-1900) and his wife Charley deeded land for the right-of-way to the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad. The following year the railroad laid out the new townsite of Copperas Cove. Soon the center of the community, including the post office, moved over to the railroad. Later the town corrected the spelling of its name to "Copperas Cove." In 1891 Clements bought this house and used it as the headquarters for his large ranching operations. The old stone stagestop remains a visible link with the community's pioneer heritage.

Ogletree Stagestop and Post Office is a historical marker in Copperas Cove, Coryell County, dedicated in 1979. It is one of 44 historical markers documented in Coryell County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 120 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.1051, -97.9229 near Copperas Cove. The nearest cataloged historic site is Copperas Cove Stagestop and Post Office (historic place), about 0.4 miles away. Others within a short drive include Pioneer-Walker, First Baptist Church of Copperas Cove, and First Baptist Church Building.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5099003681. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.