On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Union Township is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #412 of 593 in Indiana. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Union Township’s overall grade.
Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Union Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.9 points).
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
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.
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 was one of nine townships in Johnson County, Indiana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 2,689 and it contained 1,068 housing units. As of January 1, 2022, Franklin, Union, and Needham townships were merged into a single entity known as Franklin-Union-Needham Township ("FUN"). Union Township was organized in 1830. Public schools existed in Union Township going back at least to the 1860s. In 1889, the Vandivier School (School District Number 8) was opened and in the summer of 1890, the school building in Providence opened. In 1906, a centralized school was opened in Union Township offering elementary and high school education. In February 1928, the Union Township School…
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,689 to 2,831 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Union Township, 1880 to 1948
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Union Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1948Trafalgar 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.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Union Township is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #412 of 593 in Indiana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Union Township?
19% of Union Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.9 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1979.
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).
From Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.
