ZIP Code 07083

As of the 2020 United States Census, the township population was 59,728, the highest recorded in any decennial census. In the 18th century, the area that is now Union was then called Connecticut Farms. On June 6, 1780, British troops, led by Hessian General Wilhelm von Knyphausen, boarded boats on Staten Island bound for Elizabeth, New Jersey. They expected the Continental Army to give little resistance, believing that they were tired of the war and were poorly fed and paid. They were wrong on both counts and were unable to make their way to and through the Hobart Gap. In 1946, a group of residents pushed for the township's name to be changed to "Connecticut Farms", citing the potential benefits to area residents and businesses from the broad awareness of the historical significance of the name. The Self-Master Colony was a private experiment in housing the homeless; built on the Hoyt family mansion in Union Township in 1908. The township is located on the northern edge of Union County and is bordered by eight municipalities: Hillside to the east, Elizabeth to the southeast, Roselle Park and Kenilworth to the south and Springfield Township to the west. Northwest of the township lies Millburn, to the north lies Maplewood and to the northeast lies Irvington, all in Essex County. Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Battle Hill, Connecticut Farms, Galloping Hill, Headlentown, Putnam Manor, Salem, Townley and Vauxhall.

History

Settled in 1667, Union was the third English speaking settlement in New Jersey after Elizabeth and Newark. On June 6, 1780, British troops, led by Hessian General Wilhelm von Knyphausen, boarded boats on Staten Island bound for Elizabeth, New Jersey. In 1946, a group of residents pushed for the township's name to be changed to "Connecticut Farms", citing the potential benefits to area residents and businesses from the broad awareness of the historical significance of the name. The Self-Master Colony was a private experiment in housing the homeless; built on the Hoyt family mansion in Union Township in 1908. The colony was founded by Andress Small Floyd and his wife Lillian, lasting until 1938. Union Township was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on November 23, 1808, from portions of Elizabeth Township, while the area was still part of Essex County. It became part of the newly formed Union County on March 19, 1857. Portions of the township have been taken to form Linden Township (March 4, 1861), Roselle Park, (March 22, 1901), Kenilworth (May 13, 1907) and Hillside (April 3, 1913). It was the site of the Battle of Connecticut Farms, which saw 5,000 troops from the Continental Army attempt to cross the Hobart Gap in 1780. They were unable to make their way to and through the Gap and were forced to retreat.

Geography

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Battle Hill, Connecticut Farms, Galloping Hill, Headlentown, Putnam Manor, Townley and Vauxhall. The Township of Union is located on the northern edge of Union County and is bordered by eight municipalities: Hillside to the east, Elizabeth to the southeast, Roselle Park and Kenilworth to the south and Springfield Township to the west. Northwest of the township lies Millburn, to the north lies Maplewood and to the northeast lies Irvington, all in Essex County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 9.08 square miles (23.52 km²) of land and 0.03 square miles of water (0.08 km²), including 9.05 sq miles (23.44 km² of land) of water. The township is part of the New Jersey Department of Education's New Jersey School of Public Health and Early Childhood Development program, which provides health care services to students, teachers, and their families. It is the only township in New Jersey that does not have a public high school or middle school. It also has a high school, where students are required to attend classes in English, math, science and social studies. It has a college preparatory program, in which students can earn a bachelor's degree and a master's degree. It was founded in 1872 and was named after the town of Union, New Jersey, where it is located.

Demographics

The 2010 United States census counted 56,642 people, 19,556 households, and 14,276 families in the township. The racial makeup of the township was 67.66% White, 19.76% African American, 0.15% Native American, 7.72% Asian, 2.44% from other races, and 2.24% from two or more races. The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $73,722 (with a margin of error of +/ $4,858) and the median family income was$86,705 (+/ $3,822). Males had a median income of $54,811 (-/ $1,998) versus $47,144 (-/$2,316) for females. About 3.7% of families and 4.7%. of the population were below the poverty line, including 4. 7% of those under age 18 and 5.6. of those age 65 or over. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.35. The median age was 39.6 years. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 85.6 males. The per capita income for the Township was $31,135 (+/$1,104) and for females it was $45,299 (- / $35,000) The median income for a household in the Township in the 2010 census was $59,173 ($68,173) and $68,707 ($80,816) for a family.

Government

Union Township is governed under the Township form of New Jersey municipal government. The Township Committee is comprised of five members, who are elected directly by the voters at-large in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis. The Mayor, in addition to voting as a member of the Township Committee, presides over the meetings of the committee and carries out ceremonial duties. Union County is governed by a Board of County Commissioners, whose nine members are elected at- Large to three- year terms. New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Democrats Cory Booker (Newark, term ends 2027) and Bob Menendez (Harrison, term end 2025) Union Township is in the 10th Congressional Districts and is part of the 20th state legislative district. For the 117th U.S. Congress, New Jersey's Tenth Congressional District is represented by Donald Payne Jr. (D, Newark). As of March 23, 2011, there were 12,06 (387% vs. 41.7%) registered voters in Union Township. In the 2012 presidential election, Barack Obama received 16,423 votes (70.6% of those ages 18 and over) in Union County, including 69.7% who were registered as Republicans. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 55.3% (vs. 53.3%) were registered to vote, including 58.4% of the 18-to-24-year-old demographic group. The township is one of 141 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form, the second-most commonly used form of government in the state.

Education

The Union Public School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 201819 school year, the district, comprised of 10 schools, had an enrollment of 7,219 students and 614.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a studentteacher ratio of 11.7:1. Union is home to several private nursery schools and the Deron School, a private school for learning disabled students ages 513. St. Michael's Parish School and Holy Spirit School (founded in 1965) operate under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. Kean University, dating back to 1855, serves a total student population of almost 16,000. The school moved to Union in 1958, was renamed Kean College in 1973 and was granted university status in 1997. Union was threatened with being the first municipality north of the MasonDixon line to suffer from penalties as a result of school segregation. The area of Vauxhall was primarily black and the students enrolled at Jefferson Elementary School were disproportionately black, compared to the rest of the township. Union avoided problems by converting Jefferson Elementary into a sixth-grade only school called Central 6 and bused the Jefferson students to all the other elementary schools. It was later renamed Central 5 and is now Jefferson School, which is used as a one-year school for fifth-grade students. The schools in the district (with 201819 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Battle Hill Elementary School, Washington Elementary School and Union High School.

Transportation

As of May 2010, the township had a total of 145.85 miles (234.72 km) of roadways, of which 120.11 miles (193.30 km) were maintained by the municipality. Union is traversed by the Garden State Parkway, Interstate 78, U.S. Route 22 and Route 82 (Morris Avenue) NJ Transit offers rail service at the Union train station providing service on the Raritan Valley Line (formerly the mainline of the Lehigh Valley Railroad) to Newark Penn Station. The station opened in 2003 and includes a parking lot with over 450 spaces. Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Union. Former Rahway Valley Railroad freight line, now abandoned, crosses through Union. This line, presently leased to Morristown and Erie Railway, is in the process of revitalization after which it will link to NJ Transit's Morris and Essex Lines at Summit and connect to Staten Island.NJ Transit also provides bus service to New York City and New Jersey points on the 113, 114 and 117 routes to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, on the 65, 66 70 and 94 routes to Newark and local services on the 26 and 52. New Jersey Turnpike Authority provides 1.85 mile (2.98 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and 12.46 miles (20.05 km by the Union County and Union County respectively. The township is home to a number of high school football teams.

Notable buildings

Union is home to several houses constructed totally of poured concrete, an experiment of Thomas Edison. The Union Watersphere, for many years the tallest water tower of its type in the world, stands 212 feet tall, holds 250,000 gallons of drinking water and is now also used as a cell phone tower. The Home Depot Superstore, that at 217,000 square feet (20,200 m2) was the chain's largest store in theWorld as of 2012. The homes on Ingersoll Terrace include poured concrete interior walls with formed concrete plumbing. The building in the shape of a ship at 2262 U.S. Route 22. Originally a restaurant and night club, it has changed ownership over the years, becoming a furniture store known as "The Flagship" and later The Wiz Home Electronics. It is currently a P. C. Richard & Son store. It has been known as The Flagship for some time, and as The Wiz for a short time after the opening of The Wiz in the early 1990s. It was also known as 'The Ship' for a time, before being renamed 'The Wiz' in the late 1990s, and 'The Flagship' for the rest of the 1990s and early 2000s. A former resident created a website and museum (in Austin, Texas) dedicated to it. The landmark and icon inspired a former resident to create a site and museum dedicated to the landmark. The site is called 'The Union Water Tower'.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Union, Union County, New Jersey = 2.8. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 13. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 20. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Union = 3.8 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of individuals with a median age of 40.7 age the population dropped by -1.30% in Union, Union County, New Jersey population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 6,599.0 residents per square mile of area (2,547.9/km²). There are average 2.78 people per household in the 18,808 households with an average household income of $69,106 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 9.50% of the available work force and has dropped -3.41% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 23.68%. The number of physicians in Union per 100,000 population = 225.4.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Union = 46.2 inches and the annual snowfall = 26.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 125. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 201. 87 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 23.2 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 45, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Union, Union County, New Jersey which are owned by the occupant = 73.82%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 54 years with median home cost = $246,910 and home appreciation of -14.64%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $25.06 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $7,483 per student. There are 15 students for each teacher in the school, 1129 students for each Librarian and 386 students for each Counselor. 4.78% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 18.22% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 8.44% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).