Union, Texas (Wilson County)

Union is a populated place and CDP in Wilson County, Texas. The town was originally named "Union Valley." Today, the extant community of the settlement is located on FM Road 1681, about 56 miles southeast of San Antonio. The cemetery—still visible—used by the town's early inhabitants, contains the grave of Jane Bowen, the wife of outlaw John Wesley Hardin.

Union, Texas
Census-designated place
Historic marker at the original site of the Union Valley school house, established 1872
Coordinates: 29°19′14″N 97°50′42″W
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountyWilson
Population
 • Total22 (2,000)

History

The rural community was settled shortly before the start of the Civil War, and following that conflict grew up as Union Valley. In 1872 the settlement received the gift of a log school house and land from Harriet Smith Beaty, which was replaced with a framed structure in 1878.[1] Union Valley was given a post office in 1883.[1] By 1893, the town had a population of 300 and supported three general stores, a Methodist church, a mill, a saloon, the school, and a blacksmith. The two-room schoolhouse had an enrollment of 65 in 1903.[2]

Union Valley was located very close to the nearby towns of Albuquerque and Nockenut. These towns ran along the Wilson County—Gonzales County line.[3] At night, the lights from the three towns were visible to one another.[3] Albuquerque and Nockenut are considered ghost towns as of 2020,[3] and Union Valley, now named simply Union, is a rural community with few families left.[2][3]

The Union Valley cemetery is located five miles northwest of Nixon, off of FM 1681, between Union and Albuquerque. The Mound Creek cemetery, north of Union near Nockenut, contains the grave site of John Wesley Hardin's first wife, Jane Bowen.[3]

Name change

The post office name was changed in 1900 to the simpler "Union", and that is what the area is known as today. In 1906, when the Galveston, Harrisburg, & San Antonio Railroad by-passed the town, Union went into decline.[1] The post office closed in 1915. In 2000, the community comprised 22 residents.[2]

Legacy

There are two historical markers referring to Union Valley at the site of the original town, located today on private property off Texas farm-to-market highway FM 1681.[3][1]

References
  1. Historic Marker Text: Site of the Old Town of UNION VALLEY (Settled in 1860s). Historic Marker Transcription. Texas State Historical Survey Committee. 1972. Retrieved 2020-10-04. Original school house of logs on site given by Harriet Smith Beaty in 1872 to Trustees... was replaced 1877 by a frame one on William Cone land, serving as Masonic Hall, Church, Court Room. Union Post Office opened 1883... town dwindled when bypassed in 1906 by Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railroad. ; #4865
  2. "Union, TX". Texas Handbook online. 2018-01-04. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  3. "South Texas Towns – Union Valley". Texas Escapes. text and photos; via webpage. October 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
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