Happy Union
Plainview, Hale County, Texas
Marker Inscription
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
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Drawn by cheap land and a healthful climate, families like the Matslers, Pearsons, and Neils began settling this stretch of Hale County around 1890, ranching and raising feed and hauling supplies by rail from Amarillo. In 1897 they built a single room that served at once as school, church, and community center, and chose the hopeful name Happy Union. Cotton gins, a store, and a grain elevator followed, and irrigation later made it a prosperous farming area that kept its close-knit identity even as growth stayed modest.
Why it matters
Happy Union embodies the community-building spirit of the High Plains, where a one-room building shared by school, church, and neighbors could seed a lasting rural identity.
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Related people
- · J. T. Matsler
- · J. V. Neil
- · Stant Rhea
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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