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Twanoh State ParkTwanoh State Park · Photo: Steven Pavlov · CC BY-SA 4.0
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History · Union

Union dates to 1858

Most of Union was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1943 on, and old-book passages.

1858founded
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Union’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Union began

When was Union founded?

1858

Union dates its founding to 1858 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1890.

2020 census: 683168 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1890.The full story ↓
The story

How Union came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Union.

Read it all →

The Hood Canal basin is the indigenous territory of several neighboring Native American communities, including the Skokomish and Squaxin peoples.

In the 1830s, white fur traders built a blockhouse on the bluff where Union is today. Settlers arrived in the area in the 1840s, with the future Union City site being claimed in 1852 by Thomas Webb or Wells. The town of Union was founded and named in 1858 by merchants Willson and Anderson.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Union in 1921

Passages that mention Union, cut from the printed page as they were published.

In May. iii%3, Mr. Frauenthal entered the aervlce of the Union Depot Company In the telegnph department of the old Union depot at Twelfth and Poplar atreete, where he was steadily promoted to higher responsibilities in the telegraph and ticket departments. In 1893 be accepted a position with the Wa…
Centennial history of Missouri (the center state) one hundred years in the Union, 1820-19211921 · page 393Read the page →
Read the text

In May. iii%3, Mr. Frauenthal entered the aervlce of the Union Depot Company In the telegnph department of the old Union depot at Twelfth and Poplar atreete, where he was steadily promoted to higher responsibilities in the telegraph and ticket departments. In 1893 be accepted a position with the Wabash Western Railway Company In a capacity preparatory to fitting him for the information bureau of the St. Louie Union atation, then In procees of oon«tractton« On the opening of the Union atatlon, September S. 1894. he was given Charge of the tnfonnattoa bureau and nnder his unique direction It becann t'lfirst successful organized bureau for the dissemina-

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, 1858 to 1943

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1858
    FoundingUnion is established
  3. 1873In the archive034 Puget Sound scenes
  4. 1880In the archiveUnion City and Hood Canal, probably between 1880 and 1890
  5. 1890Post officeThe Union City post office opens
  6. 1895Post officeThe Union City post office closes
  7. 1895Post officeThe Union post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1904In the archiveUnion City on Hood Canal as seen from the water
  10. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Union, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1900s6 items
034 Puget Sound scenes1873034 Puget Sound scenesUnion City and Hood Canal, probably between 1880 and 18901880Union City and Hood Canal, probably between 1880 and …Union City and Hood Canal, probably between 1880 and 18901880Union City and Hood Canal, probably between 1880 and …Union City and Hood Canal, probably between 1880 and 18901880Union City and Hood Canal, probably between 1880 and …Union City on Hood Canal as seen from the water1904Union City on Hood Canal as seen from the waterResidence of John McReavy at Union City, on Hood Canalc. 1905Residence of John McReavy at Union City, on Hood Canal
1910s–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
Today1 recent
Union Washington2010Union Washington
On the map

Union on the map, 1943 to 1985

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

Union on the 1943 USGS mapUnion on the 1952 USGS mapUnion on the 1985 USGS map1943Potlatch 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.

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.

034 Puget Sound scenes
Retake this view034 Puget Sound scenes, 1873

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Union

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

See all →
R
Rachel CorrieAmerican anti-war and human rights activist · b. 1979
Mike EnziAmerican politician · b. 1944
Nathan AdrianAmerican swimmer · b. 1988
Kasey KellerAmerican soccer player · b. 1969
Eloise MumfordAmerican actress · b. 1986
Ben GibbardAmerican singer, songwriter and guitarist · b. 1976
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Union’s post office has been open since 1895. Another post office, Union City, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Union City
1890–1895
Union
1895–today
18901960today
1cemetery inside Union
Union Pioneer

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

Help out

Finish Union’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 view034 Puget Sound scenes: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Union’s history

What year was Union founded?

In 1858, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Union’s post office opened in 1890.

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 (7), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.