Located in north-central Louisiana, Union Parish borders Union County, Arkansas. The Parish seat is Farmerville and is located just north of Lake D’Arbonne at the intersections of La. Hwy 2 and La. Hwys 15/Hwy 33.
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Spotlight on Union Parish Throughout the year, Union Parish has loads of fun events. The A new event will be added this year. The Lake D’Arbonne Country Sportsman’s Expo, will be held on Sept. 24 & 25, at the Farmerville Recreation Center in Farmerville. This event will feature vendors, displays, demonstrations, kids’ activities, door prizes, and food. Admission: $3 for ages 12+. Our parish’s focal point is the 15,000-acre Lake D’Arbonne, where outdoor lovers can enjoy fishing, watersports, bird-watching, and spectacular sunsets. Two gorgeous Louisiana bayous feed the lake: Corney Creek and Upper D’Arbonne, both offering the quiet splendor and whispering mystery typical of our state’s backwaters. Lake D’Arbonne State Park sits along the shore of the lake, and offers modern cabins, RV spots, pavilion, swim pool, tennis courts, and special events. Plus, our parish has two huge national wildlife refuges—D’Arbonne NWR and Upper Ouachita NWR—and the Union Parish Wildlife Management Area. Union Parish truly is a Sportsman’s Paradise. For more information please call 1-888-245-7145
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Louisiana Watermelon Festival this year will be July 30 & 31. The Tennessee Walking Horse show will be July 16 & 17.
INFORMATION ON ARCHITECTURE :
Union Parish-Bernice.
Bernice Civic Clubhouse, 700 East 4th Street.
Architect: J.W. Smith and Associates (drew up plans for “A Civic Clubhouse for Bernice, Louisiana” but unknown if they actually designed the existing structure).
Completed: 1938. Cost: $ unknown (privately built.)
Historian’s Note: Placed on National Register of Historic Places in 1994 (Building #94000374). Bernice Civic Clubhouse is locally considered significant in the area of local social history since it became the social center of the town upon its construction in 1938. The Bernice Civic Club was a ladies organization and replaced a gazebo-like pavilion built by the Club in 1907. Built in Oakhurst Park as a social center of the town of Bernice. Low building is rustic in style and sheathed in rough circular sawn boards. First gala function at the Clubhouse was a Christmas Dance held December 26, 1938 with admission by invitation. The gala was remembered as quite a grand affair, with an orchestra, formal attire and a roaring fire in the ironstone fireplace. For the gala tickets cost $1.25 for couples, one dollar for “stags” and 50 cents for “spectators. The Clubhouse became very popular to rent for dances since the local high school principal was a very pious conservative and did not allow dances to be held at the high school. Teenagers would scrape money together to rent the Clubhouse to hold their impromptu dances on Saturday night and even their prom dances. Many recall the next Sunday sermon was on the evils of dancing but the preacher never mentioned the Clubhouse by name. A less controversial high school function held at the Clubhouse was the annual baccalaureate dinner for graduating seniors and their families hosted by the Civic Club. Other functions held there included birthday parties, bridal showers and family reunions. One popular activity was the boxed supper where individuals brought decorated boxes with a complete supper inside to auction off as a fundraiser.
Sources: Fact Sheet on the Bernice Civic Clubhouse on website of National Register of Historic Places.
1930s Images: 1 pic.
Union Parish-Marion.
Marion High School, 3062 Taylor Street.
Architect: D. Curtis Smith.
Completed: 1939. Cost: $56,043 (four projects with gym/auditorium torn down in 2000).
¨ Building addition.
¨ Vocational/agricultural building.
¨ Principal’s cottage, Taylor and Cox Streets (now a private residence)
