Pleasant Hill About nine miles southwest of Gilmer is located the old-settled community of Pleasant Hill. Back in the 1870’s, 1880’s and 1890’s, Pleasant Hill was a progressive community. People drifted in here from Harrison and other counties, and from the old states, and Pleasant Hill had its beginning. The early settlers and builders of Pleasant Hill were some of the best people in Texas. John T. Holloway, Madison Read, Joe Mathis, Henry Bauman and many other noted families settled at Pleasant Hill. John T. Holloway, a Christian evangelist, held meetings here and established a church at an early date. John Mathis ran a county store and cotton gin and grist mill. Henry Bauman ran a blacksmith and general work shop. A building for church and school was erected on a little deviation, hence the name, Pleasant Hill. The land at that time was fresh and fertile. The farmers made good crops and were prosperous. Wild game was plentiful in the woods, which furnished a means of recreation and sport as well as meat for the settler’s table. Back in the early days, good schools were scarce. The state had but little money to finance schools, hence the public schools were poor. Our best schools were private institutions, financed by private individuals, by tuition, or by church organizations. Sometime in the 1880’s, Prof. T. J. Allison established a private school in connection with the public school at Pleasant Hill. He erected a two-story frame building, and equipped it for high school work. He conducted a large school here for several years, with pupils coming from the surrounding settlements. One particular feature in regard to all early schools, we note, was the thoroughness of their work. Pupils were required to master a subject before they passed it. Public examinations were held at the close of the term, and each class was examined on the entire term’s work. These public examinations were important occasions attended by the entire community. Prof. Allison sold his school to the local community in a few years and took up the practice of medicine. C. B. Reader succeeded him.