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B+History
History · Union City

Union City was first counted by the census in 1870, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #208 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Monastery and Church of Saint Michael the Archangel. Below: 22 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1870.

1870first census
1on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
22old photos & papers
29famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Union City’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Union City began

When was Union City founded?

1870

Union City first appears in the census in 1870.

First census: 4,640 in 18702020 census: 68,589156 years

How historic is Union City?

B+

More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Union City’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Union City is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #208 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Union City’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from the first census: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194031.8% of homes (±2.3) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register1 listing, 8 historic buildings, 1.2 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 66%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 56%

New Jersey towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Jersey town has 3.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Union City’s 1.2 sits below most of its state (34% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 8 historic buildings outnumber those of 74% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (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 City’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Union City change.A town in old photos22 old photos, postcards and papers.Famous sons and daughtersBobby Cannavale, AJ Lee and 27 more were born here.Old housesHalf of Union City’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · On the map

Union City on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

Union City on the 1888 USGS mapUnion City on the 1892 USGS mapUnion City on the 1900 USGS mapUnion City on the 1935 USGS mapUnion City on the 1955 USGS mapUnion City on the 1967 USGS mapUnion City on the 1981 USGS mapUnion City on the 1995 USGS map1888Paterson 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 City.

By decade

Union City, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s22 items
History of West Hoboken NJ pg 104-a1903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 104-aHistory of West Hoboken NJ pg 104-b1903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 104-bHistory of West Hoboken NJ pg 111903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 11History of West Hoboken NJ pg 1101903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 110History of West Hoboken NJ pg 1121903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 112History of West Hoboken NJ pg 1151903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 115History of West Hoboken NJ pg 1161903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 116History of West Hoboken NJ pg 1181903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 118History of West Hoboken NJ pg 121903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 12History of West Hoboken NJ pg 13a1903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 13aHistory of West Hoboken NJ pg 13b1903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 13bHistory of West Hoboken NJ pg 13c1903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 13cHistory of West Hoboken NJ pg 14a1903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 14aHistory of West Hoboken NJ pg 14b1903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 14bHistory of West Hoboken NJ pg 14c1903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 14cHistory of West Hoboken NJ pg 151903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 15History of West Hoboken NJ pg 16b1903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 16bHistory of West Hoboken NJ pg 16c1903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 16cHistory of West Hoboken NJ pg 181903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 18History of West Hoboken NJ pg 1a1903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 1aHistory of West Hoboken NJ pg 201903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 20History of West Hoboken NJ pg 221903History of West Hoboken NJ pg 22
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Famous people

29 famous people were born in Union City

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
B
Bobby CannavaleAmerican actor · b. 1970
A
AJ LeeAmerican professional wrestler and author · b. 1987
Nikos GalisGreek basketball player · b. 1957
Darren YoungAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1983
F
Frank HauboldOlympic gymnast · b. 1906
Hank FinkelAmerican basketball player · b. 1942
The story

How Union City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Union City.

Read it all →

The area of what is today Union City was originally inhabited by the Munsee-speaking branch of Lenape Native Americans, who wandered into the vast woodland area encountered by Henry Hudson during the voyages he conducted from 1609 to 1610 for the Dutch, who later claimed the area (which included the future New York City) and named it New Netherland. The portion of that land that included the future Hudson County was purchased from members of the Hackensack tribe of the Lenni-Lenape and became part of Pavonia, New Netherland.

ChaptersEarly history and civic boundariesImmigration and industryDevelopment in the 21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Union City, 1888 to 1987

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1903In the archiveHistory of West Hoboken NJ pg 104-a
  5. 1925Post officeThe Union City post office opens
  6. 1957Born hereNikos Galis is born here
  7. 1970Born hereBobby Cannavale is born here
  8. 1983Born hereDarren Young is born here
  9. 1987Born hereAJ Lee is born here
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

History of West Hoboken NJ pg 104-a
Retake this viewHistory of West Hoboken NJ pg 104-a, 1903

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Union City’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Union City

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
8
each building in a district counts
first listed
1986
Monastery and Church of Saint Michael the Archa…
Monastery and Church of Saint Michael the Archangel
Buildings
Monastery and Church of Saint Michael the ArchangelBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Union City, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00065,00070,00075,0001880190019201940196019802000202068,589

Grew from 4,640 people in 1870 to 68,589 in 2020, more than tenfold.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Union City’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Union City’s post office has been open since 1925.

Gone or out of use
Roosevelt StadiumparkSaint Anthony's Grammer SchoolschoolSaint Michaels Schoolschool

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

Help out

Finish Union City’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHistory of West Hoboken NJ pg 104-a: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

North Bergen TownshipIts storyB+Weehawken Township1 historic placeB+Jersey City28 historic placesA+West New York2 historic placesB−Hoboken22 historic placesA

Questions about Union City’s history

What year was Union City founded?

The Union City post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Union City rank for history?

Union City is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #208 of 468 in New Jersey. 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 City?

One place: the Monastery and Church of Saint Michael the Archangel (listed 1986).

How old are the homes in Union City?

32% of Union City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1961.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (22), the National Register of Historic Places (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) 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.