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History · Union Township

Union Township dates to 1864, and 68% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1962 on and the census since 1890.

1864founded
0on the National Register
68%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Huw Williams (Huwmanbeing) · Public domain
Quick answers

How Union Township began

When was Union Township founded?

1864

Union Township dates its founding to 1864 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 982 in 18902020 census: 283162 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1882.

What stands out about Union Township’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 Union Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Union Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Union Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Union Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Union Township’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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Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Kaarland
1882–1883
Lochiel
1883–1907
Wadena
1883–1919
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
LochielWadena
Gone or out of use
Wealing Airportairport

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Union Township, in brief

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

Union Township is one of eleven townships in Benton County, Indiana. As of the 2020 census, its population was 283 and it contained 92 housing units. The township was organized in June 1864 and named by John W. Nutt "because of the loyalty shown in furnishing soldiers for the Union army."

Union Township was established in 1864. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 255 to 283 (+11%).

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

Timeline

Union Township, 1864 to 1962

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1864
    FoundingUnion Township is established
  3. 1882Post officeThe Kaarland post office opens
  4. 1883Post officeThe Kaarland post office closes
  5. 1883Post officeThe Lochiel post office opens
  6. 1883Post officeThe Wadena post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1907Post officeThe Lochiel post office closes
  9. 1919Post officeThe Wadena post office closes
  10. 1962On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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

Union Township on the map, 1962 to 1990

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

Union Township on the 1962 USGS mapUnion Township on the 1980 USGS mapUnion Township on the 1990 USGS map1962Wadena sheet · 1:24,000

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

People over time

Union Township, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 982

Between 255 and 982 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Union Township’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Center Township3 historic placesB+Gilboa TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRichland TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Union Township’s history

What year was Union Township founded?

In 1864, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Union Township’s post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1890 counted 982 people here.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.