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History · Union

Union’s post office opened in 1817, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

7 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 183 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1921 on and the census since 1880.

1817first post office
7on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Union began

When was Union founded?

1817

The Union post office opened in 1817, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 356 in 18802020 census: 419209 years
Founding year: the first Union post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Union’s past

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

A historic districtThe Union Historic District takes in 174 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Union are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,341 in 1950; 419 people lived here in 2020.Landmarks on the Register7 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

7 listings protect 199 historic buildings

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

places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
199
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Elmwood
ElmwoodBrig. Gen. John Echols HouseUnion Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival2
Greek Revival2
Georgian2
Green Revival2
Queen Anne2
Colonial1
ElmwoodColonial
Walnut GroveGreek Revival
Brig. Gen. John Echols HouseGeorgian
Union Historic DistrictClassical Revival
William Gaston Caperton Jr. HouseGeorgian
Byrnside-Beirne-Johnson HouseGothic Revival
Clarence Campbell HouseQueen Anne

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

Help out

Start Union’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how 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
People over time

Union, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,40018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,341

Peaked at 1,341 in 1950; 419 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Union came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Union.

Read it all →

Monroe County was established by an act of the Assembly of Virginia on January 14, 1799, occupying land formerly a part of Greenbrier County. Union did not yet exist when the county's first court convened in 1799. However, shortly after Monroe County was created, James Alexander offered 25 acres of land, including a lot for a courthouse which in time became the town of Union. On January 6, 1800, the Virginia Assembly passed an act creating the town of Union and naming William Haynes, John Gray, John Byrnside, James Handley, Michael Erskine, John Hutchinson, and Isaac Estill trustees.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Union in 1916

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

Hutchinson also lobbied through the Assembly a bill to establish the town of Union, and another to relieve the people of Monroe from the Greenbrier taxes of 1799, assessed before Monroe was organized. But before coming to the last act in the drama, wherein he and Stuart were the leading characters,…
A history of Monroe county, West Virginia1916 · page 107Read the page →
Read the text

Hutchinson also lobbied through the Assembly a bill to establish the town of Union, and another to relieve the people of Monroe from the Greenbrier taxes of 1799, assessed before Monroe was organized. But before coming to the last act in the drama, wherein he and Stuart were the leading characters, we must pause to narrate the organization of the new county.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Red Sulphur Baptist church was organized in May, 1815, at the house of Benjamin Halstead and was at first called Union Baptist church. The first house of worship stood at the east end of the present iron bridge over Indian Creek. There was a stone chimney in the middle with a fireplace on each side…
A history of Monroe county, West Virginia1916 · page 224Read the page →
Read the text

Red Sulphur Baptist church was organized in May, 1815, at the house of Benjamin Halstead and was at first called Union Baptist church. The first house of worship stood at the east end of the present iron bridge over Indian Creek. There was a stone chimney in the middle with a fireplace on each side. To avoid confusion the name was changed in 1845. The present church is a handsome white structure near Ballard.

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, 1803 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1803Born hereAugustus A. Chapman is born here
  3. 1817Post officeThe Union post office opens
  4. 1845Born hereThomas H. Stack is born here
  5. 1865Born hereMatthew Wesley Clair Sr. is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900Born hereTed Chambers is born here
  8. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 1,341
By decade

Union, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Union, WV, USA - panoramio (5)2014Union, WV, USA - panoramio (5)Union, WV, USA - panoramio (4)2014Union, WV, USA - panoramio (4)Union, WV, USA - panoramio (3)2014Union, WV, USA - panoramio (3)Union, WV, USA - panoramio (2)2014Union, WV, USA - panoramio (2)Union, WV, USA - panoramio (16)2014Union, WV, USA - panoramio (16)Union, WV, USA - panoramio (15)2014Union, WV, USA - panoramio (15)Union, WV, USA - panoramio (14)2014Union, WV, USA - panoramio (14)Union, WV, USA - panoramio (13)2014Union, WV, USA - panoramio (13)Union, WV, USA - panoramio (12)2014Union, WV, USA - panoramio (12)Union, WV, USA - panoramio (11)2014Union, WV, USA - panoramio (11)Union, WV, USA - panoramio (10)2014Union, WV, USA - panoramio (10)Union, WV, USA - panoramio (1)2014Union, WV, USA - panoramio (1)
On the map

Union on the map, 1921 to 1971

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 1921 USGS mapUnion on the 1971 USGS map1921Alderson 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.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Union

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
A
Augustus A. ChapmanConfederate Army general · b. 1803
T
Thomas H. StackAmerican Jesuit · b. 1845
Matthew Wesley Clair Sr.African American bishop, newspaper editor · b. 1865
T
Ted ChambersAmerican football and soccer coach · b. 1900
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Union’s post office has been open since 1817.

Gone or out of use
Union Elementary SchoolschoolUnion Senior High Schoolschool

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

Questions about Union’s history

What year was Union founded?

The Union post office opened in 1817, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Union?

7 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Elmwood (listed 1976, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Union Historic District and the William Gaston Caperton Jr. House, with 183 contributing buildings. 199 historic buildings in all.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (7), Wikipedia, 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 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.