About 1890, families including J. T. Matsler, S. M. Pearson, W. P. Long, J. H. Calvert, and J. V. Neil began settling this part of Hale County, drawn by inexpensive land and a healthful climate. They engaged in ranching and raised feed for stock, obtaining supplies by rail from Amarillo, while a mail and passenger service operated by Stant Rhea linked the settlement with surrounding communities. In 1897 the pioneers built a one-room building that served as a schoolhouse, community center, and place of worship for the settlement, which they named Happy Union. J. V. Neil, W. H. Pearce, and H. P. Darden were the first school trustees. In 1908 Charles P. Shirley deeded two acres of land for a new schoolhouse, which was later replaced by a larger stucco building used until the school disbanded about 1944. By the 1920s the community had a store and filling station built by Gordon and Mae Hansen, a cotton gin, and later a grain elevator. Irrigation helped make Happy Union a prosperous farming area which, despite limited growth, retained a strong sense of identity reflecting the community's pride and rich heritage.