On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Union Township is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #58 of 701 in Michigan. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
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 3.4 sits above most of its state (73% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±5.6 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.
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Goodwinsville
1834–1840
Union City
1840–today
Orangeville
1866–1882
Hodunk
1882–1904
Hitchcock
1900–1910
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
HodunkUnion City
Gone or out of use
Hitchcock Post Officepost officeHodunk Post Officepost officeUnion City Stationlocale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Union Township on the map, 1918 to 1982
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Union Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1918Union City 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.
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 a civil township of Branch County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,942 at the 2020 census. The village of Union City is the only incorporated municipality in the township. The only other settlement in the primarily agricultural township is the unincorporated community of Hodunk, situated on the boundary with adjacent Girard Township near the junction of Hog Creek and the Coldwater River. Hodunk is at 42°00′53″N 85°03′42″W. The FIPS place code is 38580.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,868 to 2,942 (+3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Union Township, 1834 to 1918
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Union Township is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #58 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.
What is on the National Register in Union Township?
One place: the Stancer-Road-North Coldwater River Bridge (listed 1999).
How old are the homes in Union Township?
40% of Union Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.6 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1953.
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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
