Union is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,383 at the 2020 census. It is home to the Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage and annual Union Fair.

History

Union was part of a tract of land called the Muscongus Patent, a grant made March 2, 1629 by the Plymouth Council to John Beauchamp and Thomas Leverett. About 1720, it was purchased by General

Samuel Waldo Samuel Waldo (August 7, 1696 – May 23, 1759) was an American merchant, land speculator, army officer and politician in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Biography He was born in Boston, the son of Jonathan Waldo and Hannah Mason. In 1722, h ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and thereafter called the Waldo Patent. The first white settlers by the names of Anderson, Malcolm, and Crawford, arrived in 1772. The town was settled on July 19, 1774 and named Taylor Town after the original purchaser and settler, Dr. John Taylor from Lunenburg, Massachusetts. Dr. John Taylor purchased Union for £1,000. On May 3, 1786, it was organized as the Plantation of Sterlingtown, and on October 20, 1786 the town was incorporated and named Union.

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

was formed from a portion of Union in 1811. Agriculture was the principal business, and on October 5, 1869 the North Knox Agricultural & Horticultural Society opened the first annual Union Fair. The town had mills operated by

water power Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a ...

at the outlets of ponds. Factories at Union produced

carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping ...

cultivator A cultivator is a piece of agricultural equipment used for secondary tillage. One sense of the name refers to frames with ''teeth'' (also called ''shanks'') that pierce the soil as they are dragged through it linearly. It also refers to ma ...

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...

harness A harness is a looped restraint or support. Specifically, it may refer to one of the following harness types: * Bondage harness * Child harness * Climbing harness * Dog harness * Pet harness * Five-point harness * Horse harness * Parrot harness ...

, boots and shoes. South Union had a cabinet and musical instrument factory, an iron foundry, a

machine shop A machine shop or engineering workshop (UK) is a room, building, or company where machining, a form of subtractive manufacturing, is done. In a machine shop, machinists use machine tools and cutting tools to make parts, usually of metal or pla ...

and a

coffin A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation. Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for j ...

factory. East Union had a lumbermill, in addition to a chair and table factory. A

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

was dedicated at the

common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally ...

on July 4, 1888. When Union celebrated on July 19, 1974 the

bicentennial __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe * French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...

of its settlement, a

time capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ...

was buried near the statue, to be dug up July 19, 2024. The capsule contains a picture of children from around the town and "scores of current

memorabilia A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a ...

." Union was the subject of the 1940

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

, ''Come Spring'', by author

Ben Ames Williams Ben Ames Williams (March 7, 1889 – February 4, 1953) was an American novelist and writer of short stories; he wrote hundreds of short stories and over 30 novels. Among his novels are ''Come Spring'' (1940), ''Leave Her to Heaven'' (1944) ...

. File:Falls, South Union, Maine, by G. S. Osgood.jpg, South Union falls File:Hotel at Union, Maine, by F. W. Cunningham.jpg, The Burton House File:Burton House & Stable, Union, ME.jpg, The Burton House in 1907

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and is water. Union is drained by the Medomak River,

Saint George River The Saint George River is a river in Maine with a watershed of in a unique and historic area of mountains, sea coast, lakes, tidal streams and inlets. The origin of the Saint George River is the outflow of Saint George Lake () in Liberty. The ...

, Pettengill Stream, Fuller Brook, Hope Brook, Little Medomak Brook and the Back River. Coggans Hill, elevation 817 feet (249 meters)

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...

, is the highest point in the town.

Education

Union is part of the Maine School Administrative District 40. Union Elementary School is in the town, with the MSAD headquarters and Rivers Alternative Middle School within the school building's second floor. Medomak Valley Middle School and

Medomak Valley High School Medomak Valley High School is a public high school established in 1968 in Waldoboro, Maine ( Lincoln County), United States, which educates grades 9–12. The school is part of the MSAD 40 district. Academics Medomak Valley offers a variet ...

are in nearby Waldoboro. Vose Library is in Union.Home
Vose Library. Retrieved on November 6, 2018.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,259 people, 981 households, and 638 families residing in the town. 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 RosenberPopu ...

was . There were 1,203 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.7%

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 ...

, 0.3%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.4% Native American, and 0.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 0.4% of the population. There were 981 households, of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.0% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.77. The median age in the town was 46.5 years. 19.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.4% were from 25 to 44; 35.6% were from 45 to 64; and 16.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 49.0% male and 51.0% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,209 people, 863 households, and 632 families residing in the town. The

was 68.8 people per square mile (26.6/km). There were 1,052 housing units at an average density of 32.8 per square mile (12.7/km). The racial makeup of the town was 98.64%

, 0.09%

, 0.23% Native American, 0.23% Asian, and 0.81% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.27% of the population. There were 863 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 20.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.85. In the town, the age distribution of the population shows 24.6% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $37,679, and the median income for a family was $41,050. Males had a median income of $30,984 versus $23,438 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $16,240. About 6.1% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

Sites of interest

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

: * Ebenezer Alden House * The Common * Lermond Mill * Joseph and Hannah Maxcy Homestead * Union Town House * Matthews Museum

Notable people

* Obadiah Gardner, US senator *

Christine Savage Christine R. Savage (born August 5, 1931) is an American politician from Maine. Savage served in the Maine Legislature from 1994 to 2008, including six years in the Maine House of Representatives and eight years in the Maine Senate. She also ...

, state legislator *

Augustin Thompson Augustin Thompson (Union, Maine on November 25, 1835 – June 8, 1903) was a physician, businessman and philanthropist who created the Moxie soft drink and the company that manufactured it (now part of the Kirin Holdings Company of Tokyo, Japan) ...

, physician and businessman who created

Moxie Moxie is a brand of carbonated beverage that is among the first mass-produced soft drinks in the United States. It was created around 1876 by Augustin Thompson as a patent medicine called "Moxie Nerve Food" and was produced in Lowell, Mass ...

References

External links

Town of Union, Maine
* The town's website is http://www.union.maine.gov/ {{authority control Towns in Knox County, Maine Towns in Maine 1786 establishments in Massachusetts Populated places established in 1786