Collection documents business transactions between the Dallas Coal Company and the City of Dallas to purchase coal. The coal was to be used for powering pump stations, most likely those at Record Crossing and Turtle Creek, which distributed water to Dallas citizens.

The Dallas Water Works, now called Dallas Water Utilities, is the self-financed City of Dallas department responsible for water and wastewater services. Dallas Water Utilities is one of the largest metropolitan water systems in the United States and serves a population of approximately 1,211,000 customers in Dallas, 862,457 in wholesale customer cities (treated water), and 129,993 in wholesale customer cities (untreated water) in a service area of approximately 699 square miles. Dallas Water Utilities began as the City of Dallas Waterworks in 1881 when the City purchased a privately-owned water company that had provided Dallas with water since the 1870s. When Browder Springs, the first water supply, proved inadequate, the City turned to surface water sources such as the Trinity River and man-made lakes.

The Texas Coal Company was organized in 1895 by Hubert Adams to provide fuel for coal-fired pumps at the Dallas Water Works. Most of the coal products came from mines in Arkansas and the Indian Territory (now the State of Oklahoma). The Dallas Coal Company was reorganized in 1902 as the Southern Fuel Company to reflect expanded business interests. The business no longer exists.