From A History of Coleman County
and Its People, 1985 edited by Judia and Ralph Terry, and
Vena Bob Gates - used by permission --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Without photographers in
Coleman County, this history book would be
a lot smaller and pretty boring.
Some of the early known photographers of
this area were the Eggels of Coleman and
Chambers of Santa Anna. Jess R.
Moore opened a studio in Coleman in 1900
in a tent where the Coleman High Rise
Apartments now stand. After his move
from his tent, he occupied several
locations, winding up in 1947 in the upper
story of what is now Olney Savings.
About this time, he was joined by his son,
Charlie, in the business. J. R. died
in 1953, and Charlie continued his studio
until the mid-1950's. W. P Martin
began his business in 1929, after having
been located in Ballinger for eight
years. He was located over what is
now the north part of Perrys. He
went out of business sometime in the
1940's.
Frank Dunlap
began a photography studio in Coleman in
1947, after marrying the daughter of W.
Dan Smith. He was located in the
Robey building just east of where Coleman
Junior High School is now located.
Hugh Capps bought the Dunlap Studio in
1948, later moving to the Cobb building in
the 1950's and to the Simon Horne
Building, where Coleman Business World now
is, in 1962. In 1974, Ralph Terry
bought Capps and his wife out, moving the
studio to the old Roquemore home on West
College Avenue in 1977. This year is
the 10th anniversary for the studio under
the Ralph Terry Studio of Photography name
... 37 years for this studio to be in
continuous operation. All of the old
studio negative files are still maintained
by Ralph Terry Studio, and prints can be
ordered from them at any time. Ralph
is an expert in all phases of photography,
having 25 years experience. For fine
portraiture, excellent wedding
photography, commercial work, and the very
best in custom and ready-made frames, stop
in at the Ralph Terry Studio. A copy
of any picture in this book can be ordered
there, in any size.