# Union, Texas

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{{short description|Populated place in Wilson County, Texas}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Union, Texas
|settlement_type = [Unincorporated community](/source/Unincorporated_community)
|image_skyline = File:Union-valley-tx2016-12(wilson-county).jpg
|image_alt = Historic marker plaque
|image_caption = Historic marker at the original site of the Union Valley school house, established 1872
|coordinates = {{coord|29|19|14|N|97|50|42|W|type:city_region:US-TX|display=inline,title}}
|population_total = 22 (2000)
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_name1 = Texas
|subdivision_type2 = County
|subdivision_name2 = Wilson
}}
'''Union''' is a [populated place](/source/Place_(United_States_Census_Bureau)) in [Wilson County, Texas](/source/Wilson_County%2C_Texas), United States.  The area is named for the local ghost town that was originally named "Union Valley."  Today, the extant community of Union is located on [FM Road](/source/Farm-to-market_road) [1681](/source/List_of_Farm_to_Market_Roads_in_Texas_(1600%E2%80%931699)), about 56 miles southeast of [San Antonio](/source/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](/source/John_Wesley_Hardin).

==History==
The rural community was settled shortly before the start of the [Civil War](/source/American_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.<ref name="Marker" />  Union Valley was given a post office in 1883.<ref name="Marker" />  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.<ref name="TH">{{Cite web |date=2018-01-04 |title=Union, TX |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hnu03 |access-date=2021-01-04 |website=Texas Handbook online}}</ref>

Union Valley was located very close to the nearby towns of [Albuquerque](/source/Albuquerque%2C_Texas) and [Nockenut](/source/List_of_ghost_towns_in_Texas).  These towns ran along the Wilson County—[Gonzales County](/source/Gonzales_County%2C_Texas) line.<ref name="TexScape" />  At night, the lights from the three towns were visible to one another.<ref name="TexScape" />  Albuquerque and Nockenut are considered [ghost town](/source/ghost_town)s as of 2020,<ref name="TexScape">{{Cite web |date=October 2020 |title=South Texas Towns – Union Valley |url=http://www.texasescapes.com/SouthTexasTowns/Union-Valley-Texas.htm |access-date=2021-01-04 |website=Texas Escapes |location=text and photos; via webpage}}</ref> and Union is a rural, spread out community with few families left.<ref name="TH" /><ref name="TexScape" />

The Union Valley cemetery is located five miles northwest of [Nixon](/source/Nixon%2C_Texas), off of FM 1681, between the Union Valley and the Albuquerque sites.  The Mound Creek cemetery, north of Union near Nockenut, contains the grave site of [John Wesley Hardin](/source/John_Wesley_Hardin)'s first wife, Jane Bowen.<ref name="TexScape" />

===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](/source/Buffalo_Bayou%2C_Brazos_and_Colorado_Railway) by-passed the town, Union went into decline.<ref name="Marker">{{Cite sign |url=http://www.stxmaps.com/go/texas-historical-marker-site-of-old-town-of-union-valley.html |title=Historic Marker Text: Site of the Old Town of UNION VALLEY (Settled in 1860s) |date=1972 |work=Historic Marker Transcription |publisher=Texas State Historical Survey Committee |access-date=2020-10-04 |quote=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 |ref=See photo above}}</ref>  The post office closed in 1915.  In 2000, the community comprised 22 residents.<ref name="TH" />

==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.<ref name="TexScape" /><ref name="Marker" />

==References==
{{Reflist|}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Union, Texas}}
Category:Wilson County, Texas
Category:Ghost towns in Texas
Category:Unincorporated communities in Wilson County, Texas
Category:Unincorporated communities in Texas

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Union, Texas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union%2C_Texas) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union%2C_Texas?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.