Union, New Jersey, United States

🇺🇸 Union Township is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. In the 18th century, the area that is now Union was then called Connecticut Farms.

History Settled in 1667, Union was the third English speaking settlement in New Jersey after Elizabeth and Newark, with the area that is now Union then called Connecticut Farms.

Union Township was the site of the Battle of 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. At midnight, 5,000 troops started to land. They expected the Continental Army to give little resistance, believing that they were tired of the war and were poorly fed and paid. They also expected the citizens of New Jersey to welcome them. They were wrong on both counts and were unable to make their way to and through the Hobart Gap.

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). 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.

Geography 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 south-east, 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 north-east 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), including 9.05 square miles (23.44 km²) of land and 0.03 square miles (0.08 km²) of water (0.35%).

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.

Neighborhoods • Five Points, area around the junction of Galloping Hill Road, Chestnut Street, Salem Road, Delaware Avenue, Walton Avenue, and Tucker Avenue. • Brookside Heights (Curryville), west of Vauxhall Road. • Vauxhall, area of Union north of I-78 and west of Stuyvesant Avenue, with its own ZIP code 07088. • Union Center, area around the intersection of Morris and Stuyvesant Avenues. • Putnam Ridge, a section between Suburban Road, Morris Avenue, Twin Oaks Road, and Colonial Avenue. • Putnam Manor, an historic section between Colonial Avenue and Salem Road. • Orchard Park • Parkside Manor, a three-road section off of Union Terrace. • Larchmont Estates, area bordered by Larchmont Reservation (NW and NE edges), Morris Avenue (SW), Liberty Avenue (SE), and Joe Collins Park/Larchmont Reservation (NE edge). • Battle Hill, area served by Battle Hill Elementary School in west Union, bordered by Rahway River (W edge), Morris Avenue (N), the west branch of the Elizabeth River (E), and Route 22 (S). • Green Lane, new community between Kean University and Union Station. • Fairway Drive, community bordering the Galloping Hill Golf Course. • Rich Creek, the neighborhood of Richard Terrace.

Education Kean University, dating back to 1855, serves a total student population of almost 16,000. Called New Jersey State Teachers College when it was located in Newark, the school moved to Union in 1958, was renamed Kean College in 1973 and was granted university status in 1997.

Transport: Road 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, 11.43 miles (18.39 km) by Union County and 12.46 miles (20.05 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and 1.85 miles (2.98 km) by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

Union is traversed by the Garden State Parkway, Interstate 78, U.S. Route 22 and Route 82 (Morris Avenue).

The Parkway connects Kenilworth in the south to Hillside in the north. The Parkway includes interchanges 139A (Chestnut Street) / 139B (Route 82 West Union), interchanges 140 (Route 22 / Route 82 west) / 140A (Route 22 / Route 82 west) and interchange 141 (Vauxhall Road / Union).

Public transportation 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.

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 service on the 26 and 52.

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.

Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Union.

Notable buildings • 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 landmark and icon inspired a former Union resident to create a website and museum (in Austin, Texas) dedicated to it. • Union is home to several houses constructed totally of poured concrete, an experiment of Thomas Edison. The homes on Ingersoll Terrace include poured concrete interior walls with formed concrete plumbing. • Union is home to a 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. • Union is home to The Home Depot Superstore, that at 217,000 square feet (20,200 m²) was the chain's largest store in the world as of 2012.