Union City’s post office opened in 1857, and 14 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #59 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Union City was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. 14 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 154 buildings between them. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Union City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 2004.
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 64% of U.S. towns, #59 of 177 in Tennessee. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Union City’s overall grade.
Tennessee towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Tennessee town has 6.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Union City’s 157 sits above most of its state (94% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 172 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 2004.
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 City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Union City, building by building, 1887–1912
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.
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The story so far
Union City, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Union City yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Union City is a city in and the county seat of Obion County, Tennessee, United States. 11,170 people were living in the town as of the 2020 census. It is the principal urban settlement of the surrounding micropolitan area, which includes Obion County and Fulton County, Kentucky. Union City is home to Discovery Park of America which is a museum with many exhibits pertaining to local history, as well as state, national, and world history, science, technology, and art.
Its first post office opened in 1857. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 10,895 to 11,170 (+3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Union City, 1857 to 1987
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.
The Union City post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 2004.
How does Union City rank for history?
Union City is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #59 of 177 in Tennessee. 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?
14 listings: 10 buildings, 3 historic districts, the Railroad Park, the East Main Street and Exchange Street Historic District and the Washington Avenue and Florida Avenue Historic District, with 154 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 172 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Union City?
9% of Union City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1970.
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), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (14), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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