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Home Texas Hale County Plainview Happy Union
     

Happy Union

  Texas Historical Markers
FM 400, 10 mi. S, Plainview, TX, USA

Latitude & Longitude: 34° 2' 6.68978000016", -101° 41' 51.5404700016"
 
    Texas State
Historical Marker
    Attracted by the availability of inexpensive land and a healthful climate, the families of J. T. Matsler, S. M. Pearson, W. P. Long, J. H. Calvert, J. V. Neil and others began settling this part of Hale County about 1890. They engaged in ranching and raising feed for stock, obtaining their supplies by rail from Amarillo. A mail and passenger service operated by Stant Rhea linked the settlement with surrounding communities. In 1897 the pioneers built a one room building that served as a schoolhouse, community center and place of worship for the settlement, which they chose to call Happy Union. J. V. Neil, W. H. Pearce and H. P. Darden were the first school trustees. Charles P. Shirley deeded two acres of land in 1908 on which a new schoolhouse was built. It was replaced by a larger stucco building that was used until the school disbanded about 1944. By the 1920s the community had a store and filling station built by Gordon and Mae Hansen, a cotton gin, and later a grain elevator. Irrigation helped make Happy Union a prosperous farming area which, despite its limited growth, has retained a strong sense of identity that reflects the community's pride and rich heritage. 1983

This page last updated: 7/15/2008

Happy Union Historical Marker Location Map, Plainview, Texas