Hiner
Hiner, Parker County, Texas
Marker Inscription
According to local tradition the community of Hiner was established mainly through the efforts of James J. Barnett who settled in Parker County in 1857. Area family legends and accounts of Barnett helping newcomers with transportation and temporary housing abound. Wade Chapel Methodist Church, built on land donated by Mary W. Wade adjacent to the Hiner Cemetery about 1870, served as a school and community center; the Reverend James Hiner was its first minister. The cemetery, with graves dating to 1872, contains the graves of at least seven veterans of the American Civil War. (1992)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Local memory credits James J. Barnett, who reached Parker County in 1857, with founding the community of Hiner, aiding newcomers with transportation and shelter as they arrived. By about 1870 Wade Chapel Methodist Church rose on donated land beside the cemetery, serving as school and gathering place under its first minister, the Reverend James Hiner. The burial ground, with graves reaching back to 1872, holds at least seven Civil War veterans among the community's pioneers.
Why it matters
Hiner is a portrait of how neighborly frontier settlement worked, with one generous settler, a church-schoolhouse, and a cemetery binding a North Texas community together.
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Related people
- · James J. Barnett
- · Mary W. Wade
- · James Hiner
Themes & tags
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