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History · Free Union

Free Union dates to 1761, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Free Union was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. Its Register listing is the Ballard-Maupin House. Below: maps from 1931 on.

1761founded
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Free Union began

When was Free Union founded?

1761

Free Union dates its founding to 1761 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1847.

2020 census: 187265 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1847.The full story ↓

What stands out about Free Union’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Free Union are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Older than the countryEstablished in 1761, 15 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Free Union’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Free Union’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Free Union, 1761 to 1931

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1761
    FoundingFree Union is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1847Post officeThe Free Union post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1931On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Free Union came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Free Union.

Read it all →

The area was first settled in the mid-18th century. In 1761, the region became a part of Albemarle County. Free Union was originally referred to as "Nicksville" after a free slave named Nick, who opened a blacksmith shop there in the early 19th century. When a post office was established in 1847, it was given the name of Free Union to avoid confusion with Nixville, another post office in the county. The name was taken from that of the Free Union Church, which had been built in 1837 and is still operating as the Free Union Baptist Church. The church was "free" in that all races were welcome to worship there, and it was a "union" of four denominations of Christianity, none of which could have afforded a church of their own at that time. Including both Black and White members on the church roles was customary, as Black people were usually the enslaved property of church members. According …

ChaptersEarly settlementCivil war

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Free Union, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Post Office2023Post OfficeFree Union Abandoned Building2023Free Union Abandoned BuildingAl Weed Campaigning2006Al Weed CampaigningAl Weed (2006)2006Al Weed (2006)
On the map

Free Union on the map, 1931 to 1987

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

Free Union on the 1931 USGS mapFree Union on the 1965 USGS mapFree Union on the 1977 USGS mapFree Union on the 1987 USGS map1931University 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 Free Union.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Free Union

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Ballard-Maupin House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Early Vernacular Frame1
Ballard-Maupin HouseEarly Vernacular Frame

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Free Union

Nobody well known was born in Free Union itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Zachary TaylorPresident of the United States from 1849 to 1850 · b. 1784
R
Rob LoweAmerican actor · b. 1964
C
Camila MendesAmerican actress · b. 1994
Meriwether LewisAmerican explorer · b. 1774
Richard BurrUnited States Senator from North Carolina from … · b. 1955
Alexander VandegriftUnited States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recip… · b. 1887
Places that used to be

Old corners

Free Union’s post office has been open since 1847.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Blue Ridge View

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Free Union’s history

What year was Free Union founded?

In 1761, according to Wikidata. Free Union’s post office opened in 1847.

What is on the National Register in Free Union?

One place: the Ballard-Maupin House (listed 1999).

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 Wikimedia Commons (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.