Union is one of the eight

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

located in

Perry County, Missouri Perry County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,956. Its county seat is Perryville. The county was officially organized on November 16, 1820 (effective ...

, in the United States of America.

Etymology

Union Township is named after

Uniontown, Missouri Uniontown is an unincorporated community located in Union Township in southeastern Perry County, Missouri, United States. It is situated on U.S. Route 61, ten miles southeast of Perryville. Etymology Uniontown was originally known as Paitzdorf ...

. The town's original name, Paitzdorf, was changed during the American Civil War in response to Union soldiers encamped nearby.

History

The area of Union Township was originally under the authority of the New Bourbon District, which was one of two districts formed by the French colonial administration of

Upper Louisiana Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...

(

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

). Authority passed from French to Spanish colonial administration when the colony was handed over to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in 1762. The French colonials in Ste. Genevieve were continuously harassed by

Osage The Osage Nation, a Native American tribe in the United States, is the source of most other terms containing the word "osage". Osage can also refer to: * Osage language, a Dhaegin language traditionally spoken by the Osage Nation * Osage (Unicode b ...

Indians to the south. Looking to stop the harassment and raids, the Spanish authorities in the 1790s invited Shawnee and Delaware Indians from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

and

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

to immigrate and settle in the area around Apple Creek to act as a buffer against Osage raids. The

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

established a number of villages around Apple Creek, with Le Grand Village Sauvage or "Big Village" as it was known to the Americans, being one of the largest. American harassment and encroachment on Shawnee and Delaware lands caused tensions and the eventual removal of the Shawnee and Delaware from the region. Some of the earliest Europeans to put down roots in the area were English and Scotch-Irish Methodist settlers from North Carolina who settled in the Longtown area in 1821. Among the earliest families were the Abernathys, Farrars, and Rutledgers. These settlers were part of a large exodus from the Piedmont region of North Carolina following the War of 1812. The settlement was initially known as the "Abernathy Settlement". It is not clear why the name changed to Longtown. Later, in 1840 the village of Paitzdorf ( Uniontown) was founded by members of the German Saxon Lutheran immigration. The

King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents), is a major street stretching through Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

(French: Le Chemin du Roi, Spanish: El Camino Real), runs through the township linking

Perryville, Missouri Perryville is a city in Perry County, Missouri, United States. The population was 8,555 at the 2020 United States census. Perryville is the county seat of Perry County. History Perryville was selected the county seat of Perry County by Robert T. ...

Jackson, Missouri Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, United States. It is a principal city of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO- IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of Jackson was 15,481 at the 2020 census ...

. Union Township was organized between 1870 and 1890.

Geography

Union Township covers an area of 45.6 square miles (118.2km2) and contains one incorporated village: Longtown and the unincorporated villages of: Apple Creek and Uniontown.

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 1,067 people living in the township. The racial makeup of the town was 98.50%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, and 0.80% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

.: 2010 - Population and Housing Unit Counts, 2010 Census of Population and Housing https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-27.pdf

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 1,062 people living in the township. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 23 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 98.50%

, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, 0.7% Asian, and 0.5% from

.City-data.com http://www.city-data.com/township/Union-Perry-MO.html

Other Union townships

The

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features throughout the United States and its territories, Antarctica, and the associated states of ...

(GNIS) records 33 townships named Union in various counties of Missouri.

References

{{authority control Townships in Perry County, Missouri Townships in Missouri