Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 14% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of La Union was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: maps from 1955 on.
The La Union post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 14% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, La Union is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
New Mexico towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical New Mexico town has 2.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so La Union’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of New Mexico towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how La Union’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of La Union.
In 2021, La Union was struck by torrential floods that were described as a '1000-year flooding event'. This led to the breaking of a dam, which ravaged the local infrastructure. As a result, the county government and Governor of New Mexico Michelle Lujan Grisham announced funding on improvements on town and dam infrastructure.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Weddings 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 La Union. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of La Union.
Nobody well known was born in La Union itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
La Union had its own post office from 1909 to 1913. Another post office, La Union, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The La Union post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
La Union is more historic than 14% of U.S. towns. 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.
7% of La Union’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.7 points), against a typical 2.3% for a New Mexico town; the median home was built in 1989.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikipedia, 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.
