The story
Read it all →How Union Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Union Township.
The West Union Covered Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
C−History
History · Union Township
Half of Union Township’s homes were built after 1987
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Union Township was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1890.
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Union Township’s history
How historic is Union Township?
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What drives the grade ↓More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Union Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Union Township is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Union Township’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19405.5% of homes (±5.2) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical IN town 7.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 18%
NewerOlder
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 (±5.2 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.
A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Union Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1890 and 1960, then more than doubled.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Union Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.
★ 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.People over time
Union Township, census by census
Lost half of its people between 1890 and 1960, then more than doubled.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Union Township’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Bellmore
Medelline
Hollandsburg
Ferndale
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BellmoreFerndaleHollandsburgMadalline
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Union Township
BlakeBrittonBurtonMartinMount MoriahRoachThomas
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Union Township, 1852 to 2000
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1852Post officeThe Bellmore post office opens
- 1852Post officeThe Medelline post office opens
- 1853Post officeThe Hollandsburg post office opens
- 1862Post officeThe Medelline post office closes
- 20th century
- 1902Post officeThe Hollandsburg post office closes
- 1951
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 21st century
- 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 1,569
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.
Add from your albumOn the map
Union Township on the map, 1951 to 1963
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Union Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1951Mansfield sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Union Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Union Township
Nobody well known was born in Union Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
B
Bill NewtonProfessional basketball player · b. 1950J
J.A. BrittonArchitect of bridges · b. 1839B
Bill ByersMajor League Baseball catcher · b. 1877J
Jesse E. HobsonPresident of SRI International · b. 1911Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Adams Township9 historic placesA+Clinton Township1 historic placeBGreene Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJackson Township3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRussell Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Union Township’s history
How does Union Township rank for history?
Union Township is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns. 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?
6% of Union Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1987.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikipedia, 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.