Settlement in this area began in the early 1850s. By the 1870s Union Hill had developed into a small rural community of families primarily engaged in cotton farming. In 1879 a presbyterian congregation was organized in Union Hill through the efforts of the Rev. J. S. Davenport. The congregation erected a one-room church building at this site in 1880. In 1882 W. P. and Miley Johnson deeded five acres here to Union Hill Church trustees T. E. Wilshire, C. G. Witherspoon, and J. L. Shipley for church and cemetery purposes. The first recorded burial was that of Margaret Beatty on February 4, 1883. Among those buried here are area pioneers and their descendants and several veterans of the Civil War. A tabernacle was built in 1925 and in 1938 the graveyard was improved with the building of a fence with an arched gateway. A cemetery association was formed in 1983 and in 1992 a new tabernacle was constructed. Gatherings on December 24th for a Christmas Eve program and in June for a picnic are two special activities initiated by the congregation in the 1890s which have become traditional annual events. The church and cemetery continue to provide spiritual guidance and burial sites for the community.
This page last updated: 7/15/2008 |
Union Hill Presbyterian Church and Cemetery Historical Marker Location Map, Joshua, Texas
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Related Themes: Texas C.S.A., Texas Confederate States of America, Confederacy, Texas Cemetery Markers, Cemeteries, Texan Graveyards,
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