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B−History
History · Union Gap

Union Gap was first counted by the census in 1880, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #63 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Most of Union Gap was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Its Register listings are the Alexander McAllister House and the Elizabeth Loudon Carmichael House. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1941 on, and the census since 1880.

1880first census
2on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Union Gap’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Union Gap began, and where its name came from

When was Union Gap founded?

1880

Union Gap first appears in the census in 1880.

First census: 267 in 18802020 census: 6,568146 years

How did Union Gap get its name?

The town is named for a water gap formed by the Yakima River between the Rattlesnake Hills and Ahtanum Ridge.

How historic is Union Gap?

B−

More historic than 49% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Union Gap’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Union Gap is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #63 of 285 in Washington. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Union Gap’s overall grade.
Founding era1880, from the first census: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19409.7% of homes (±4.0) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register2 listings, 3.0 per 10,000 residents · typical WA town 0.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 49%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 78%

Few Washington towns list much on the Register (a typical Washington town has 0.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Union Gap’s 3.0 sits above most of its state (70% of Washington towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points).

Founding year: the first census (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 Gap’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Union Gap’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewP. T. Garvis Store: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Union Gap came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Union Gap.

Read it all →

The city of Union Gap was originally named Yakima City and was officially incorporated on November 23, 1883. When bypassed by the Northern Pacific Railroad in December 1884, over 100 buildings were moved with rollers and horse teams to the nearby site of the depot. It was reported that business never ceased, including the bank and the courthouse, during the 4 mile move to the railroad. The new city was dubbed North Yakima. In 1918, North Yakima was renamed to simply Yakima, and the original town to the south was named Union Gap to avoid confusion between the two towns.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Union Gap, 1900 to 1941

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900BuiltElizabeth Loudon Carmichael House is built
  3. 1933In the archiveP. T. Garvis Store
  4. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Union Gap, decade by decade

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

1930s1 item
P. T. Garvis Store1933P. T. Garvis Store
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
Today6 recent
Los Hernandez restaurant 22023Los Hernandez restaurant 2Los Hernandez restaurant 12023Los Hernandez restaurant 1Untitled photo2018Untitled photoMcAllister House Union Gap 90001603 NRHP Yakima County, WA2014McAllister House Union Gap 90001603 NRHP Yakima Count…Carmichael House2014Carmichael HouseA pond at the Union Gap trail head of the Yakima Greenway2011A pond at the Union Gap trail head of the Yakima Gree…
On the map

Union Gap on the map, 1941 to 1985

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

Union Gap on the 1941 USGS mapUnion Gap on the 1953 USGS mapUnion Gap on the 1974 USGS mapUnion Gap on the 1985 USGS map1941Yakima East 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 Gap.

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.

P. T. Garvis Store
Retake this viewP. T. Garvis Store, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Union Gap

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1990
Alexander McAllister House
Alexander McAllister HouseElizabeth Loudon Carmichael House, built 1900
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne2
Late Victorian1
Alexander McAllister HouseLate Victorian
Elizabeth Loudon Carmichael HouseQueen Anne · Built 1900

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

People over time

Union Gap, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,000188019001920194019601980200020206,568

Grew from 267 people in 1880 to 6,568 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Union Gap

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

See all →
Kyle MacLachlanAmerican actor · b. 1959
Robert LucasAmerican economist · b. 1937
Mark LaneganAmerican singer · b. 1964
Bonnie J. DunbarAmerican engineer and astronaut · b. 1949
Brian ThompsonAmerican actor · b. 1959
Jim RohnAmerican motivational speaker, businessman and … · b. 1930
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
South Broadway
1cemetery inside Union Gap
Pioneer

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Yakima41 historic placesAAhtanumIts storyC

Questions about Union Gap’s history

What year was Union Gap founded?

The Union Gap post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Union Gap rank for history?

Union Gap is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #63 of 285 in Washington. 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 Gap?

Two places: the Alexander McAllister House (listed 1990) and the Elizabeth Loudon Carmichael House (1991).

How old are the homes in Union Gap?

10% of Union Gap’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1971.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (7), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.