Union Township’s post office opened in 1820, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns · #146 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Gov. William Liberty Hall (Livingston House), a National Historic Landmark. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Gov. William Liberty Hall (Livingston House), a National Historic Landmark. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1810.
From Union Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Union Township began
When was Union Township founded?
1820
The Union Township post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Townley (1904), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,428 in 18102020 census: 59,728206 years
How historic is Union Township?
A−
More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Union Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Union Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Union Township is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #146 of 468 in New Jersey. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Union Township’s overall grade.
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 Township’s 0.7 sits below most of its state (28% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Union Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Plainfield 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.
On the National Register
4 historic places in Union Township
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
Settled in 1667, Union was the third English speaking settlement in New Jersey after Elizabeth and Newark, with the area that is now Union then called Connecticut Farms.
Union Township was the site of the Battle of Connecticut Farms. On June 6, 1780, British troops, led by Hessian General Wilhelm von Knyphausen, boarded boats on Staten Island bound for Elizabeth, New Jersey. At midnight, 5,000 troops started to land. They expected the Continental Army to give little resistance, believing that they were tired of the war and were poorly fed and paid. They also expected the citizens of New Jersey to welcome them. They were wrong on both counts and were unable to make their way to and through the Hobart Gap.
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.
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.
The Union Township post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Union Township rank for history?
Union Township is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns, #146 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 Township?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Gov. William Liberty Hall (Livingston House) (a National Historic Landmark since 1972) and the First Presbyterian Congregation of Connecticut Farms (listed 1970, the first).
How old are the homes in Union Township?
20% of Union Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1956.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.
★ Landmark
2008
2007
2005
