WHITE OAK, Texas (KLTV) - A new historical marker in Gregg County is honoring Black military heroes from the Shiloh community, a recognition 12 years in the making.

Between the 1870s and 1890s, the Shiloh community in White Oak consisted of a church, school and cemetery for African Americans.

Gregg County Historical Commission board member Gregg Muckelroy said the area was a slave encampment prior to the Civil War.