Union Hill Presbyterian Church and Cemetery
Joshua, Johnson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
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.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Settlement around Union Hill began in the early 1850s, and by the 1870s a small community of cotton-farming families had taken hold. The Rev. J. S. Davenport organized a Presbyterian congregation here in 1879, and a one-room church rose the next year; in 1882 the Johnsons deeded five acres for the church and cemetery, where the first burial came in 1883. Among those laid to rest are area pioneers and several Civil War veterans, and the community still keeps its Christmas Eve and June picnic gatherings begun in the 1890s.
Why it matters
A rural church and its cemetery preserve the memory of the cotton-farming pioneers who settled north-central Texas, and the enduring annual gatherings show how such communities held together across generations.
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Related people
- · Rev. J. S. Davenport
Themes & tags
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