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Incorporated: |
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Population: |
50,023* |
Total Square Miles: |
9 |
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Police |
851-5000 or 911 |
Board of Education |
851-6400 |
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Fire |
851-5420 or 911 |
Public Library (Main) |
686-0420 |
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Rescue Squad |
851-5000 |
Public Library (Vauxhall) |
277-1737 |
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City Hall |
688-2800 |
Post Office |
688-0600 |
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In 1667 Reverend Abraham Pierson and several Elizabethtown families purchased a tract of land northwest of that community and established the settlement which would eventually become Union Township. Since the group had originally hailed from Connecticut, their settlement was named Connecticut Farms. This rich farmland, bought from the Indians, cost between twelve and fifteen cents per square mile, and each family was allotted 150 acres for farming, as well as six acres for a house lot. Between 1901 and 1913, several outlying sections of the
Township became the autonomous municipalities of Roselle
Park, Kenilworth and Hillside. Following World War I, the
Rahway Valley Railroad and Lehigh Valley Railroad were
constructed through the Township. The automobile age had
also begun, and Union entered a period of rapid development.
Between 1920 and 1930 the population increased from 3,962 to
16,472. Following World War II, a number of light industries
developed rapidly, and the pressures of suburbanization led
to the disappearance of much of Union's farmland. Today, it
has the second largest population in Union County. The
community now consists primarily of single family homes and
clean, light industry on the periphery of town, which
provides employment for many Township residents. |
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