Union Communiity

Union's later story turns on dairies. The Handbook of Texas says local crop farming gave way to dairying, beef cattle and hay. Hopkins County voters approved road bonds in 1929 to win a milk plant, Carnation opened at Sulphur Springs in 1937, and some 200 class-A dairies started between 1936 and 1949. By 1990 the county led Texas in dairying. The Handbook gives the oldest marked grave as that of Thomas Jeffgamblin; the plaque says T. J. Gamblin.

What the plaque says

Union Communiity Rich, sandy soil attracted farmers to this area before the beginning of the Civil War. The settlement that developed here was called Union after the pioneer Union Church that served as the focal point of the rural agricultural community. Over the years, the site has boasted a school, church, post office, and store. The Union Church was founded about 1850 and was made up of members from various denominations. In 1885 the name Union Baptist Church was adopted. A circuit preacher held services once a month. The Union Church met in the school building until the early 1900s. Then a three-room, three-teacher schoolhouse was constructed. In 1946, the community school was absorbed into the Sulphur Springs School District. The general store, which also housed the post office from 1901 to 1906, was operated in its early years by Charles Hamrick and W. A. McKeever. These two men also served as the only recorded postmasters for Yesner, as the postal station officially was called. Many of the first settlers in the area are buried in the cemetery at this site. The graveyard was in use at least by 1861 when James Thrasher was buried in an unmarked grave. The earliest marked burial site is that of T. J. Gamblin, who died in 1875. (1985)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Cooper Lake State Park — 22 mi
  Two units on Jim Chapman Lake, a Corps reservoir proposed in the late 1930s, stalled by a lawsuit until 1984 and dedicated in 1991, with a 10.5-mile equestrian trail and wildlife land around it.

More markers nearby

• Shooks Chapel Methodist Church — 3.1 mi
• Forest Academy Cemetery — 6.7 mi
• Morning Chapel Missionary Baptist Church — 7.2 mi
• St. Philip's Episcopal Church — 7.4 mi