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History · Unionville Center

Unionville Center dates to 1879, and 45% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1916 on, and the census since 1880.

1879founded
0on the National Register
45%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Unionville Center’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Unionville Center began

When was Unionville Center founded?

1879

Unionville Center dates its founding to 1879 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 200 in 18802020 census: 241147 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1848.The full story ↓

What stands out about Unionville Center’s past

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

Old housesHalf of Unionville Center’s homes were built before 1948.On the map since 19164 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1973. Watch Unionville Center change.
★ What stands out · The story

How Unionville Center came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Unionville Center.

Read it all →

Unionville Center was originally called Unionville, and under that name, the village was laid out and platted in 1847. The Unionville Center post office has been in operation since 1848. The village was incorporated in 1879.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Unionville Center on the map, 1916 to 1973

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

Unionville Center on the 1916 USGS mapUnionville Center on the 1944 USGS mapUnionville Center on the 1961 USGS mapUnionville Center on the 1973 USGS map1916Milford Center 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 Unionville Center.

Timeline

Unionville Center, 1848 to 1938

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1848Post officeThe Unionvillie Center post office opens
  3. 1852Born hereCharles W. Fairbanks is born here
  4. 1879
    FoundingUnionville Center is established
  5. 20th century
  6. 1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1938In the archiveMethodist church
By decade

Unionville Center, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s6 items
Methodist church1938Methodist churchMethodist church1938Methodist churchMethodist church1938Methodist churchMethodist church1938Methodist churchMethodist church1938Methodist churchMethodist Church1938Methodist Church
1940s–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
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.

Methodist church
Retake this viewMethodist church, 1938

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Unionville Center, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 305

Between 189 and 305 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Help out

Finish Unionville Center’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 viewMethodist church: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Unionville Center’s history

What year was Unionville Center founded?

In 1879, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Unionville Center’s post office opened in 1848, and the census of 1880 counted 200 people here.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From the Library of Congress (6), 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.