More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #130 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it
Most of Union was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1996. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1827.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Union’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Union is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #130 of 247 in Missouri. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Union’s overall grade.
Missouri towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Missouri town has 2.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Union’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1826.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). 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’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Union was founded in 1826 and designated as the county seat in 1827. The city is named for the ideal of political unity. A post office called Union has been in operation since 1827.
Early German settlers established themselves in and around Franklin County, including what would later be known as Union. German architecture, culture, and especially surnames are still prevalent around Union and surrounding areas. Depending on the definition, the city is within or near a region known as the Missouri Rhineland.
Passages that mention Union, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Centennial history of Missouri (the center state) one hundred years in the Union, 1820-19211921 · page 347Read the page →
Read the text
Union Central Life Insurance Company of Memphis. He was afterward transferred to St. Louis and promoted to the position of general agent, remaining with the Union Central from 1893 until 1912. At this time he resigned because in the meantime he had invested in hanking and manufacturing enterprises and had constantly extended his business connections, which by 1912 had become of a most important character. In 1918 he was elected president of the St. Louis & St.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Centennial history of Missouri (the center state) one hundred years in the Union, 1820-19211921 · page 86Read the page →
Read the text
which indicate much of the nature of his interests and the rules which have governed his conduct. His lite record is that of notable advancement from a humble position, for he started out as waterboy on the railroad, in connection with railroad construction work, between Union, Nebraska, and Omaha. Along the lines of steady progression he has reached his present place of prominence as the head of the Wiles-Chipman Lumber Company, the leading lumber concern of the city, and in 1919 he was honored with the presidency of the St. Louis Lumber Trade Exchange.
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.
By decade
Union, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Union. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1946Union 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.
Every building
Union, building by building, 1913–1927
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Union’s history
What year was Union founded?
In 1826, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Union’s post office opened in 1827, and the census of 1880 counted 402 people here.
How does Union rank for history?
Union is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #130 of 247 in Missouri. 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?
8% of Union’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1996.
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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