The story
Read it all →How Union Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Union Township.
The Dr. John Arnold Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Union Township
30% of Union Township’s homes were built before 1940
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 12 buildings. Below: maps from 1959 on and the census since 1890.
1on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
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.
Lost villages7 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Union Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Union Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Union Township’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Seven other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Fairview
Farmington
Groves
Star
Falmouth
Mauzy
Ging
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
FairviewFarmingtonGingsMauzy
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Union Township
FairviewHinchman
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
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.From the old history books
What they wrote about Union Township in 1888
Passages that mention Union Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
history of rush county, indiana1888 · page 810Read the page →
Read the text
Union Township—North of Hon. A.M. Kennedy’s present residence gn or near Ben Davis’ Creek, in Union Township, was a schoo! as early as 1822 or ’23. ‘Che authority for this was the late John Nipp, who settled, March, 1821, on the farm now belonging to Dr. Smith. Cornelius Howard was the teacher. John Lewark, grandfather of Mart Lewark, taught here also. Clark Kitchen taught in a pioneer school house which stood on the east part of the late Joseph Hinchman’s farm, taught here before 1833. James
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Rush County, Indiana, from the earliest time to the present1888 · page 285Read the page →
Read the text
Ripley. — Beginning at the northeast corner of Union Township; running thence west to the northwest corner of Section 3, Township 15, Range 10; thence south to the southwest corner of Section 34, Township 14, Range 8; thence east to the southwest corner of Union Township; thence north to the place of beginning.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
history of rush county, indiana1888 · page 285Read the page →
Read the text
Ripley.— Beginning at the northeast corner of Union Township; running thence west to the northwest corner of Section 3, Township 15, Range 10; thence south to the southwest corner of Section 34, Township 14, Range 8; thence east to the southwest corner of Union Township; thence north to the place of beginning.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Rush County, Indiana, from the earliest time to the present1888 · page 674Read the page →
Read the text
he still owns the old home farm in Union Township, and also owns a good farm in Rushville Township. His Union Township farm is one among the best in the county.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Union Township, 1830 to 1959
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1830Post officeThe Fairview post office opens
- 1835Post officeThe Fairview post office closes
- 1846Post officeThe Farmington post office opens
- 1849Post officeThe Groves post office opens
- 1858Post officeThe Farmington post office closes
- 1865Post officeThe Groves post office closes
- 20th century
- 1959
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
Union Township, decade by decade
2024
2012On the map
Union Township on the map, 1959 to 1986
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Union Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1959Falmouth 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.
On the National Register
1 listing protects 12 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts
first listed
1989
Dr. John Arnold Farm
Districts
Architectural styles listings
Gothic Revival1
Midwest Three Portal Barn1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Union Township, census by census
Between 734 and 1,315 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.
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.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Rushville Township11 historic placesA+Washington Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJackson Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNoble TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFairview TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Union Township’s history
What is on the National Register in Union Township?
One place: the Dr. John Arnold Farm (listed 1989).
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.