Union City dates to 1856, and 54% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns · #214 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 96 buildings. Below: 24 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1871.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 88% of U.S. towns, #214 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Union City’s overall grade.
Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Union City’s 333 sits above most of its state (93% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 96 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±11.9 points). Two sources give 1856.
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 City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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 City Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 31, 1990, after Erie County Historical Society members John Claridge and William Sisson included historical information in a nomination document to the National Park Service in August, 1989. According to the document, it was established in 1800 as Miles Mills by William Miles. He built a dam on the south branch of French Creek and erected a gristmill and sawmill. Miles Mills consisted of only a few small mills until 1855, where towns were built around French Creek for the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad, which came in 1858. Shortly after, Edwin L. Drake successfully drilled for oil in Titusville, and the town became a rail head for oil. The Atlantic and Great Western rail line was built through Miles Mills in 1860, with the town creating three refineries and a barrel-making industry. The ci…
Passages that mention Union City, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Erie county, Pennsylvania1884 · page 690Read the page →
Read the text
The borough of Union City stands upon both sides of the South Branch of French Creek, very nearly in the center of Union Township, at a distance of twenty-seven miles by railroad southeast from the water's edge at Erie. The settlement was first given the name of Miles' Mills, which was changed to Union Mills in 1863, when it was created a borough, and finally to Union City July 4, 1871. The earliest buildings were erected on the flat land, in the narrow valley of the creek, immediately around what is now known as Church's mill, from which point the town has spread to the ridges north and south for
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Erie county, Pennsylvania1884 · page 686Read the page →
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teen members, by Rev. John Scott, in 184(5, and besides the gentleman named, had Rev. D. Rowland as one of the fii-st pastors. The building was erected at a cost of §850, in 1862, and has been recently repaired. It was attached to Wattsburg Circuit until the formation of Union City Circuit, when it was joined to the Riceville Circuit. About 1875, it was made a part of Union City Circuit, to which it now belongs. The membership is about sixty-five. Quite a neat graveyard, the only one outside of the borough cemeteries, is attached to the chapel. Most of the burials from the township are made at Union City. One
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A twentieth century history of Erie County, Pennsylvania1909Read the page →
Read the text
Moving to Union City in the year of 1864, he opened and conducted a hardware store for a short time, and in the year following his arrival here he opened the private bank which he successfully conducted for thirty-five years. In the meantime his property increased in extent and value, he having erected several business blocks in Union City and also owned farms over different parts of the county, and it was often remarked that he did not recognize his own farms as he drove by them so vast were his realty possessions.
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 City, 1856 to 1968
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Union City. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1929Union City 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.
Every building
Union City, building by building, 1887–1911
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1856, according to Wikidata. Union City’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1870 counted 1,500 people here.
How does Union City rank for history?
Union City is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #214 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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 Union City Historic District (listed 1990).
How old are the homes in Union City?
54% of Union City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.9 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (24), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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