John L. Bullis

Who was John L. Bullis?

John Lapham Bullis was a much-decorated American soldier and later an entrepreneur.

He was born at Macedon, New York, the eldest of the seven children of Dr. Abram R. and Lydia P. Bullis. Although brought up as a Quaker, he did not attend services regularly.

Bullis served in the Civil War, Indian Wars, and Spanish-American War.

In the 1870s and 1880s Bullis used his knowledge of West Texas to make very shrewd investments in land. In 1886 Bullis was a partner in the Shafter Silver Mine in Presidio County, Texas with famed Colonel William R. Shafter and rancher John A. Spencer. These investments made him a very wealthy man.