Union dates to 1791, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #221 of 758 in New York. What drives it
16 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 183 buildings. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1820.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1795.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 92% of U.S. towns, #221 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Union’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Union’s 35.8 sits near the middle of its state (64% of New York towns have fewer) while its 197 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1791.
Founding year: Wikidata (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.
Barnum Hill SchoolschoolCharles S Wilson Memorial Hospital Nurses Training SchoolschoolChrist the King Roman Catholic SchoolschoolEast Oak SchoolschoolFinch Hollow SchoolschoolIdeal HospitalhospitalOur Lady of Good Counsel SchoolschoolSaint Ambrose Parochial SchoolschoolSeton Catholic High Schoolschool
16cemeteries and burying grounds inside Union
All SaintsBroas FamilyCalvaryChoconut CenterChrysler RoadFloral ParkNanticoke ValleyRiverhurstRiversideSaint Cyril Slovak CatholicSaint John Ukranian Orthodox ParishSaint Mary’s Orthodox CatholicSaint PatricksSaints Peter and Paul CatholicSlovak LutheranWest Lawn
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
People over time
Union, census by census
Lost a third of its people between 1840 and 1860, then grew more than tenfold.
21 censuses, 1820–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Union’s Wikipedia page.
The region was first settled by Americans/Europeans circa 1782.
During the American Revolution, detachments of soldiers were sent through this region with the intent of attacking natives who were friendly to the British. Documented attacks on native villages in present-day Binghamton, Vestal, and Choconut Township, Pennsylvania, indicate that many natives were killed in these incursions in 1779.
Passages that mention Union, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Elizabeth, New Jersey1868 · page 316Read the page →
Read the text
of Cedar Brook, on either side of which the village of Feltville has since grown up ; and the whole region watered by the Passaic River above Chatham, embracing the whole of the present Township of New Providence, in Union County, and the Southern parts of Chatham and Morris Townships in Morris County. Portions of the tract were exceedingly rugged, and others low and swampy ; but other portions, of large extent, were quite productive and desirable. Immigration
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Elizabeth, New Jersey1868 · page 488Read the page →
Read the text
way, known as the Galloping Hill road, which, leaving the Westfield Boad, on the line of the present Central Bail BoacL, at the extreme west point of the town as now bounded, and running north-westerly, enters the village of Union or " Connecticut Farms," south of the Presbyterian church. In passing through the town, the troops were kept in perfect order, committing no deeds of violence.
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.
Timeline
Union, 1791 to 1977
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born 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.
In 1791, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Union’s post office opened in 1795, and the census of 1820 counted 2,037 people here.
How does Union rank for history?
Union is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #221 of 758 in New York. 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?
16 listings: 7 buildings, among them the US Post Office-Endicott (listed 1988, the first), 1 historic district, the Johnson City Historic District, with 183 contributing buildings, 2 sites, 2 structures, and 4 objects. 197 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Union?
30% of Union’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1955.
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 (8), the National Register of Historic Places (16), 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 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.
1876
1876
1876
1876
2022
