Union Hill Presbyterian Church and Cemetery
Posted by: 
QuesterMark
N 32° 27.433 W 097° 21.027
14S E 655039 N 3592314
This marker stands in front of the Union Hill Cemetery in Joshua. The Church is in front of the cemetery, closer to County Road 803.
Waymark Code: WM60A5
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/10/2009
Views: 11
Texas Historical Commission Atlas data:
Index Entry: Union Hill Presbyterian Church and Cemetery
City: Joshua
County: Johnson
Subject Codes: graveyards; churches; Presbyterian denomination
Year Marker Erected: 1994
Marker Location: from Joshua, take FM 917 East, about 2.2 mile
Marker Size: 27" x 42"
Marker Number: 5594
Marker Text:
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. (1994)
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