UNION PARISH MEMOIR, Union Parish, Louisiana

File prepared and submitted by Sherry Sanford 



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"Biographical And Historical Memoirs of Louisiana", Vol. II
The Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1892
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The soil of Union parish for the most part is a rich, sandy
loam, varying in color and tenacity in different localities.
There is some red land, a moderate area of outcropping
of iron rock. Less than one-fifth of the parish is cleared
for cultivation, the remainder being covered with timber.
The first settlement was probably made in the vicinity of
Ouachita City, and soon a store was established there, kept
by a Mr. Jones. Dr. Sam Larkins, a retired physician, settled
at Marion. Col. John Hill was one of the early settlers at
that point; others were James Powell and Elias George.
This settlement was probably made about 1835. Dr. John
Taylor practiced there. Sam Taylor and Livingston were
merchants there in the early forties. There were five
brothers of the Taylor family and a goodly number of the
Powells, all of whom settled in that region. Spearsville
settlement was probably made about 1842 or 1843. Mr.
Spears and his oldest son began merchandising there,
and afterward laid off a town. Early settlers of Spearsville
were the Braziels, of whom there was a large family;
Henry Barnes, Colonel Morgan and Mr. Pounce were
other early comers to that section. Joe Goyen was also
an early merchant in Spearsville. A large family of Cobbs
lived near the Arkansas line, some of them perhaps
living in Arkansas. The vicinity of Shiloh was principally
settled by families of Fuller and families of Hurds. Tribbs
and Wade were early merchants there, and were followed
by a merchant named Clark. Woods and Taylor were early
settlers in the northeastern part of the parish. The parish of
Union was not created until 1839. It was formed out of
a portion of the northern part of Ouachita parish. Parish
buildings were erected and a town laid out and named
Farmerville. The officials of the parish in 1891 are:
James M. Smith, clerk of court; B.F. Pleasant, sheriff;
James A. Manning, treasurer; Henry H. Hill, surveyor;
Dr. C.H. Jameson, coroner; Dr. C.H. Jameson, parish
physician; David M. Ramsey, returning officer; Robert
W. Goyne, assessor. The population of Union parish, as
given by the census of 1890, is 17,304. Cotton, corn, peas,
oats, wheat, rye, sweet and Irish potatoes, sorghum and
sugar cane, pumpkins, turnips, melons, etc., are raised.
The total acreage of Union parish is 411,073, of which
71,815 are cultivated; Cane, 234 acres; cotton, 34,367;
corn, 33,254; oats, 2,090; potatoes, 1,120; sorghum, 750.
The parish produced in 1890, 209 barrels of molasses,
15,160 bales of cotton, 256,785 bushels of corn, 9,760
bushels of oats, 32,960 bushels of potatoes and 242 barrels
of sorghum. The religious sentiment of the people is
Protestant. Nearly the entire population attend religious
services. The Methodist and Baptist churches predominate.
There have been established in the parish eighty-eight
public schools, the greatest number in any one parish in
the state; there are eighteen private schools, making a
total of 106 schools in the parish. Among the towns of this
parish, Farmerville ranks first both in size and commercial
importance. It has a population of 612. The first house
in the town was built by Mr. Brit Hunicutt. Shiloh, the
second town in size, is located in the western part of the
parish; it has a population of 312.

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