Old Union Community
Old Union Community, Limestone County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Originally known as Ferguson Prairie, this settlement grew up around the property of Joseph and Hannah Ferguson who settled here about 1847. Listed on early maps it was named Ivanhoe, the community name changed following the establishment of a Union Church in 1877. The first sanctuary, a one-room structure, was also used as a community center and schoolhouse. The present building was completed in 1913. Classes were conducted here until 1935; the church continues to meet at this site. Annual homecoming memorial services are held each June. 1980
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This Limestone County settlement began around 1847 on the land of Joseph and Hannah Ferguson, first called Ferguson Prairie and later mapped as Ivanhoe. When settlers organized a Union Church in 1877, the community took the church's name, and the one-room sanctuary doubled as schoolhouse and gathering place until a larger building rose in 1913. Classes ended in 1935, but the church still meets here and holds an annual June homecoming.
Why it matters
It captures the way a single frame building could serve as church, school, and civic hall all at once — the shared heart of countless small farming communities across nineteenth-century Texas.
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Related people
- · Joseph Ferguson
- · Hannah Ferguson
Themes & tags
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