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History · West Union Township

West Union Township’s post office opened in 1879, and 73% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1985 on.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
73%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How West Union Township began

When was West Union Township founded?

1879

The West Union Township post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, West Union (1879), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 58147 years
Founding year: the first West Union Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about West 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 West Union Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of West Union Township’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start West Union Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West 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.
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The story so far

West Union Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of West Union Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

West Union Township is one of thirty-one townships in Custer County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 73 at the 2020 census. A 2021 estimate placed the township's population at 72.

Its first post office opened in 1879. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 75 to 58 (-23%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

West Union Township, 1879 to 1985

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe West Union post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1913Post officeThe West Union post office closes
  5. 1985On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.
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On the map

West Union Township on the map, 1985 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Union Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

West Union Township on the 1985 USGS mapWest Union Township on the 1994 USGS map1985Burwell sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of West Union Township.

Famous people

Famous people close to West Union Township

Nobody well known was born in West Union Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
J
Jay Wright ForresterAmerican operations researcher · b. 1918
M
Milly BernardAmerican politician · b. 1920
L
Leo J. PowersUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1909
Robert M. WilkinsonAmerican politician · b. 1921
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, West Union, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Cummings ParkWest Union
Gone or out of use
Blue Mound SchoolschoolCummings Park SchoolschoolUnion Hill SchoolschoolWest Union Post Officepost officeWest Union Schoolschool
1cemetery inside West Union Township
West Union

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Lillian TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSargent TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMilburn TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about West Union Township’s history

What year was West Union Township founded?

The West Union Township post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.