Half of Union Township’s homes were built after 1995
More historic than 19% of U.S. towns · #651 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Most of Union Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: maps from 1916 on and the census since 2000.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Union Township is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #651 of 701 in Michigan. 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.
Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Union Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (32% of Michigan 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 (±1.3 points) is firm at this size.
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.
Cass County—particularly Calvin, Penn, and Porter townships—was settled by Quakers from Ohio and Indiana and free blacks beginning in 1829. They became a network of people who provided freedom seekers with food, shelter, and transportation along the Underground Railroad to sites in Canada, where slavery was illegal. Wright Modlin, also known as Wright Maudlin, settled in Williamsville in the 1840s. He was a scout, spy, and conductor on the Underground Railroad. He made trips down to the Ohio River and into Kentucky to bring people escaping slavery directly north into Michigan. Angry slaveholders banded together for the Kentucky raid on Cass County of 1847 to recover former slaves. He was also a central figure in The South Bend Fugitive Slave Case of 1849.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Union Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1916Mount Pleasant 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 Union Township.
People over time
Union Township, census by census
Between 3,750 and 3,798 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
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.
Union Township is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns, #651 of 701 in Michigan. 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?
5% of Union Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1995.
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.
