Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #276 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
Below: maps from 1934 on and the census since 1990.
More historic than 33% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Union is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #276 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Union’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: our sources. 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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Union’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Union yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Union is a town in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,696 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Truax and Union are located in the town.
Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 2,663 in 2010, 2,696 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Union, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Sept. 6. — The advance of Lee's army reached Frederick, Md.— At Washington, N. C, the Union garrison was surprised and the attacking party was driven out, the Union loss being eight killed and 36 wounded, and the rebel lo.ss being five times as great. During the engagement, the magazine of a Union gunboat exploded, killing and wounding 18. — In an action
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
operated until he entered the service of the Government during the war. In the fall of 1863 he engaged as a bridge builder in Tennessee along the line of operations of the Union troops there stationed. After his contract was completed he returned to Racine and, in the fall, enlisted in Company K, 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery and went with his command
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.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Union. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Union.
Between 2,402 and 2,663 people in every census since 1990.
3 censuses, 1990–2010.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Union’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Union itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Union is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #276 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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.
12% of Union’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1982.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
