Editing Union City, Michigan

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name                     = Union City, Michigan
|official_name            = Village of Union City
|settlement_type          = [[Village (United States)|Village]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = 
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = 
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|pushpin_map            =Michigan#USA
|pushpin_label_position =top<!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
|pushpin_label          =Union City
|pushpin_map_caption    =Location within the state of Michigan##Location within the United States
|pushpin_mapsize        =
|image_map                = Union_City_(Branch),_MI_location.png
|mapsize                  = 250
|map_caption              = Location within [[Branch County, Michigan|Branch County]]

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = Country
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Michigan]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Michigan|Counties]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Branch County, Michigan|Branch]] and [[Calhoun County, Michigan|Calhoun]]
|subdivision_type3        = [[Civil township|Townships]]
|subdivision_name3        = [[Burlington Township, Calhoun County, Michigan|Burlington]] and [[Union Township, Branch County, Michigan|Union]]

<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     = <ref>{{cite web|last=Village of Union City|url=https://www.visitunioncity.com/2164/Departments|title=Union City Departments|date=2023|accessdate=July 1, 2023}}</ref>
|government_type          = [[Town council|Village council]]
|leader_title             = President
|leader_name              = James Hurley
|leader_title1            = [[Municipal clerk|Clerk]]
|leader_name1             = Chris Mathis
|established_title        = Settled
|established_date         = 1831
|established_title1       = [[Plat]]ted
|established_date1        = 1835
|established_title2       = Incorporated
|established_date2        = 1866

<!-- Area -->
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_26.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=May 21, 2022}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 3.86
|area_land_km2            = 3.76
|area_water_km2           = 0.10
|area_total_sq_mi         = 1.49
|area_land_sq_mi          = 1.45
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.04

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_est           = 
|pop_est_as_of            = 
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 1714
|population_density_km2   = 
|population_density_sq_mi = 1182.07

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|elevation_footnotes      = 
|elevation_m              = 276
|elevation_ft             = 906
|coordinates              = {{coord|42|04|02|N|85|08|16|W|region:US-MI|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP Code|ZIP code(s)]]
|postal_code              = 49094
|area_code                = [[Area code 517|517]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 26-81360<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1615340<ref name=GNIS>{{GNIS|1615340}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|https://www.visitunioncity.com/|Official website}}
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|unit_pref = Imperial
}}

'''Union City''' is a village in the U.S. state of [[Michigan]].  Most of the village is within [[Union Township, Branch County, Michigan|Union Township]] in [[Branch County, Michigan|Branch County]] with only a very small portion extending north into [[Burlington Township, Calhoun County, Michigan|Burlington Township]] in [[Calhoun County, Michigan|Calhoun County]]. The population was 1,714 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].

==History==
[[File:John_D._Zimmerman_House.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John D. Zimmerman House, built ''c.'' 1840]]
The area was first surveyed by Robert Clark in 1826, and Isaiah Bennett purchased the first plot of land from the government in 1831.  Justus Goodwin bought a large piece of Bennett's land in 1833, and he built a mill and became the first postmaster when a post office began operating on November 9, 1834.  The post office was named Goodwinville.  In 1835, E. W. Morgan [[plat]]ted the community and named it Union City.  The post office was also renamed as Union City on January 23, 1840.  The name was believed to come from the "union" of the [[Coldwater River (Branch County)|Coldwater River]] and [[St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan)|St. Joseph River]] that ran through the area.  Union City incorporated as a village in 1866.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Walter |last1=Romig |title=Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities |work=Great Lakes Books Series |type=Paperback  |orig-date= 1973 |date=October 1, 1986 |publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]] |isbn = 978-0-8143-1838-6 |location=Detroit, Michigan| page=566}}</ref>

Union City was designated as Station No. 2 of the famous [[Underground Railroad]], where John D. Zimmerman (1811-1879), formerly of Connecticut, was stationmaster.<ref name=collin>Collin, Rev. Henry P. (1906). [https://books.google.com/books?id=j0l6jQhV4FgC&pg=PA98 ''A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Branch County, Michigan''], pp. 98-99. The Lewis Publishing Company.</ref> The slaves seeking refuge were taken into a home built around 1840 by Mr. Zimmerman, who arrived in Union City from Fairfield, Connecticut, in the spring of 1838. He brought with him a set of blacksmith tools to operate the blacksmith shop promised for him by Israel Ward Clark, one of the four proprietors of the village of Union City in 1837. In September 1839, Zimmerman returned to Union City with his family; he soon built a wagon factory, blacksmith shop, and a Greek Revival house. Outraged by the institution of slavery, Zimmerman became a stationmaster for the Underground Railroad, hiding escaped slaves in his house and assisting them in their flight to Canada and freedom. The home is on the list of Michigan State Historic Sites and is located at 119 East High Street.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liveinuc.com/pages/about.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130713065945/http://www.liveinuc.com:80/pages/about.html|archive-date=July 13, 2013|title=UC Site - About|access-date=August 8, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/advancematch.asp?abp=3&&cname=&ctype=county&cnty=Branch&srl=ON |title=Center for Geographic Information - Department of Information Technology |website=www.mcgi.state.mi.us |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528153453/http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/advancematch.asp?abp=3&&cname=&ctype=county&cnty=Branch&srl=ON |archive-date=May 28, 2012}}</ref>

In the early 1920s Union City built a hydroelectrical plant to deliver cheaper electricity to the town. By 1923 Riley Dam was constructed on nearby St. Joseph River, and the backwater forms Union Lake.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Union Lake, Branch County, MI|url=https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/PUBLICATIONS/PDFS/ifr/ifrlibra/status/waterbody/92-7.htm|access-date=July 26, 2021|website=www2.dnr.state.mi.us}}</ref>

Children's author and illustrator [[Patricia Polacco]] lives in Union City. Her home, the ''Meteor Ridge Farm'', formerly called ''The Plantation'', was built in 1859 or 1860 and also served as a stop on the Underground Railroad, even receiving a personal visit from [[Abraham Lincoln|President Lincoln]]. One of Polacco's first books, ''[[Meteor!]]'', is based on a true story of a meteor that fell on a farm in the town. Union City now has an annual Meteor Festival in early July, with many activities for children. The original meteor of the story resides in Riverside Cemetery as a family marker.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.patriciapolacco.com/author/my_home/my_home.html|title=The Story Behind the Home|access-date=June 27, 2006|archive-date=March 16, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060316013931/http://www.patriciapolacco.com/author/my_home/my_home.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Union City also sponsors an annual Memorial Day parade, and holds a community Memorial Day service at Riverside Cemetery.

Parts of the horror film trilogy ''[[Evil Dead]]'' were filmed west of Union City.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

On May 7th, 2024, the first [[tornado emergency]] in Michigan was issued for Union City. The tornado that triggered the warning didn't hit Union City, but it caused [[Enhanced Fujita scale|EF-2]] damage to the neighboring town of [[Sherwood, Michigan|Sherwood]].

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]], the village has a total area of {{convert|1.49|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|1.45|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.04|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020"/>

The vast majority of the village's area and population is located within [[Union Township, Branch County, Michigan|Union Township]] in [[Branch County, Michigan|Branch County]].  The Branch County portion of the village has an area of {{convert|1.39|sqmi|sqkm|2}}.  The remaining {{convert|0.10|sqmi|sqkm|2}} of area is part of [[Burlington Township, Calhoun County, Michigan|Burlington Township]] in [[Calhoun County, Michigan|Calhoun County]] to the north.  The village lies at the junction of the [[Coldwater River (Branch County)|Coldwater River]] and [[St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan)|St. Joseph River]].

[[File:2017-09-13 Union Lake.jpg|thumb|left|250px|view over Union Lake in September 2017.]]
===Major highways===
*{{jct|state=MI|MI|60}} runs along the northern edge of the village.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1880= 1280
|1890= 1156
|1900= 1514
|1910= 1340
|1920= 1268
|1930= 1104
|1940= 1339
|1950= 1564
|1960= 1669
|1970= 1740
|1980= 1667
|1990= 1767
|2000= 1804
|2010= 1599
|2020= 1714
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

===2010 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=November 25, 2012}}</ref> of 2010, there were 1,599 people, 631 households, and 427 families living in the village. The [[population density]] was {{convert|1110.4|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 725 housing units at an average density of {{convert|503.5|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the village was 95.2% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.4% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.6% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.8% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.2% from [[Race (U.S. Census)|other races]], and 2.8% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.0% of the population.

There were 631 households, of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 16.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.3% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.04.

The median age in the village was 35.7 years. 27.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.5% were from 25 to 44; 24.1% were from 45 to 64; and 13.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48.5% male and 51.5% female.

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 1,804 people, 685 households, and 474 families living in the village. The population density was {{convert|1,223.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 734 housing units at an average density of {{convert|497.9|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the village was 95.90% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.61% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.39% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.44% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.55% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 2.11% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.05% of the population.

There were 685 households, out of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 29.9% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $37,065, and the median income for a family was $43,984. Males had a median income of $32,143 versus $21,571 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the village was $15,101. About 7.9% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 18.9% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.

==Notable people==
*[[Orson W. Bennett|Orson Bennett]], Medal of Honor recipient.[https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/2485 Orson Bennett - Recipient -]
*[[Patricia Polacco]], children's writer
*[[Josh McDowell]], Christian evangelist and writer
*[[Floyd Odlum]], businessman, and husband of [[Jacqueline Cochran]], aviator
*[[Orville Hubbard]], longtime Mayor of [[Dearborn, Michigan]]
*[[Lee Bartlett]], former Olympic javelin record holder
*Samantha Oty, playwright and screenwriter [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12379438/ IMDb]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.visitunioncity.com/ Village of Union City official website]

{{Branch County, Michigan}}
{{Calhoun County, Michigan}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Branch County, Michigan]]
[[Category:Villages in Calhoun County, Michigan]]
[[Category:Villages in Michigan]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1831]]
[[Category:1831 establishments in Michigan Territory]]