In the 1790s when Union Parish grew wild and was roamed by Indians, John Honeycutt, trader and trapper, did business with the Indians from the present site of Camden, Arkansas, to Biloxi, Mississippi, and assisted the Spanish government in many ways. In return for his services to that government, he was given extensive grants of land in Union and Ouachita parishes. He settled in Union and there his descendants live today.

There followed the Dawkins, Carrs, Taylors, Scarboroughs, Graftons and many others from Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas. In 1839, in the region that is now Union Parish, there lived about twelve hundred free whites, planters, traders and a few professional men.

In 1839 Union parish was organized by Act 12 of the legislature with about two thousand whites, blacks and Indians in the pine-covered hills through which flowed D'Arbonne L'Outre, Bachelor, Pierre, Cornie and Ouachita rivers. The new parish could not exist without some form of government. On May 16, 1839 in the house of William Wilkerson at the mouth of Bayou Cornie the first police jury met. Mathew Wood was elected to serve as president and delegated to enter a quarter section of land for a seat of justice.

This meant organizing a parish seat, and the townsite was selected near the center of the parish. It was named Farmerville for W.W. Farmer, who became lieutenant governor of Louisiana in 1850. Farmer died in 1853 of yellow fever at New Orleans, but the legislature removed his body to Farmerville and erected in memory the shaft that now stands over his grave at Farmerville cemetery. The town was incorporated in 1842, three years after its founding.

In 1840 a courthouse was built, a substantial brick building with a wooden jail, escape-proof by a notably ingenious device. The walls of the jail were nearly 3 feet thick of foot-square timbers with nearly a foot between the walls. This space between the walls was filled with heavy round timbers, stood on one end, and one story higher than the jail proper. The theory being should the prisoner cut his way through the horizontal timbers, the vertical timbers would automatically slide down and close the opening.

The parish boasts several old communities. Ouachita City, on the Ouachita river, was among the first settlements in the southwestern part of the parish. A trading post with just a few houses grouped around it. In 1840 Sam Taylor and a man named Livingston operated a store in what is now the town of Marion. In 1842 Mr. Spears and his son started a settlement now known as Spearsville. Many claim Shiloh, once the home of Concord Baptist Institute, and 12 miles west of Farmerville, to be the oldest community in the parish and one of the oldest in North Louisiana.

The parish has a total area of 905 square miles, of which 878 square miles is land and 28 square miles (3.06%) is water. The population recorded in the 1900 Federal Census was 18,520. The 2010 census recorded 22,721 residents in the Parish.

Neigboring parishes and counties are Union County, AR (northwest), Ashley County, AR (northeast), Morehouse Parish (east), Ouachita Parish (southeast), Lincoln Parish (southwest), and Claiborne Parish (west). Communities in the parish include Bernice, Downsville, Farmerville, Junction City , Lillie, Marion, Spearsville, Shiloh, Point, and Sterlington.

Birth Records - The Louisiana State office maintains records for 100 years after the date of birth. Birth records are considered confidential for the first 100 years. For current information on who may obtain a birth record as well as how to submit a request visit the Office of Public Health, Vital Records Registry website or write to them at PO Box 60630, New Orleans, LA 70160.

Birth records older than 100 years are available through the Louisiana State Archives, 3851 Essen Lane, Baton Rouge, LA 70809. (225) 922-1000.

Death Records - The Louisiana State office maintains records for 100 years after the date of death. Death records are considered confidential for the first 100 years. For current information on who may obtain a death record as well as how to submit a request visit the Office of Public Health, Vital Records Registry website or write to them at PO Box 60630, New Orleans, LA 70160.

Death records older than 100 years are available through the Louisiana State Archives, 3851 Essen Lane, Baton Rouge, LA 70809. (225) 922-1000.

Marriage Records - For current information on how to submit a request for a certified copy of an Orleans Parish marriage record less than 50 years old, see the Louisiana Office of Public Health Director, Vital Records and Statistics website or write to PO Box 60630, New Orleans, LA 70160.

Certified copies for the parish are issued by Clerk of Court. For the address of the parish Clerk of Court visit the Union Parish Important Addresses page.

Marriage records over 50 years are stored by the Louisiana State Archives, 3851 Essen Lane, Baton Rouge, LA 70809. (225) 922-1000.

Divorce Records - To obtain current information on how to submit a request for a certified copy of divorce records contact the Clerk of Court. For the address of the parish Clerk of Court visit the Union Parish Important Addresses page.