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History · West Union

West Union’s post office opened in 1876, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1957 on.

1876first post office
0on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How West Union began

When was West Union founded?

1876

The West Union post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 271150 years
Founding year: the first West Union post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about West Union’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of West Union are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of West Union’s homes were built before 1941.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start West Union’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Union’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

West Union, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of West Union yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

West Union is an unincorporated census-designated place located in York Township in the southeast corner of Clark County, Illinois, on Illinois Route 1. Its postal zip code is 62477. As of the 2020 census, its population was 271.

Its first post office opened in 1876. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 288 to 271 (-6%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

West Union on the map, 1957 to 1998

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Union. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

West Union on the 1957 USGS mapWest Union on the 1966 USGS mapWest Union on the 1998 USGS map1957Hutsonville sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of West Union.

Famous people

Famous people close to West Union

Nobody well known was born in West Union itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Charles Le MoyneActor · b. 1880
W
Walter BullockAmerican screenwriter and lyricist · b. 1907
Chris BennettAmerican dancer and singer · b. 1948
E
Emrich NicholsonAmerican artist and art director · b. 1913
Harry Melville GlennAmerican baseball player · b. 1890
G
George WheelerAmerican baseball player · b. 1881

Questions about West Union’s history

What year was West Union founded?

The West Union post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.