Union, Wisconsin
19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1981. It stands in Union town. It lies in ZIP code area 53536. The Survey maps it on the Evansville quadrangle. It stands 942 feet above sea level.
On record in Union
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 1 record
John C. and Mary Robinson Farmsteadlisted 2010
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 19 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1889 USGS Evansville quadrangle1:62500
- 1894 USGS Evansville quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1906 USGS Evansville quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1954 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1961 USGS Evansville quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS Evansville quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1963 USGS Rockford quadrangle1:250000
- 1981 USGS Monroe quadrangle1:100000
In the county-history sources
8,068 words on this townshipHistory of Rock County, and Transactions of the Rock County Agricultural Society and Mechanics' Institute, published 1856 names this settlement in its chapter on Union Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
Is the most North-western town in the County, and 16 miles North- w«st from Janesville. ' The face of country is similar to that of Magnolia, except that it has less prairio; and the land generally iiot so rolling. ' The earliest settlers were Ira Jones, Stephen Jones, Boyd Phelps, Charles McMilleB, Hi- i-am Griffith, John Sayles, Erastus Quivoy, "Washington Higday, Samuel Lenis, Jacob West, John T. Baker, Levi Leonard, Willis T. Bunton. This town was organized in 1842, and at that time included what is now Union, Porter, and north half each of Center and Magnolia.
Passage source: History of Rock County, and Transactions of the Rock County Agricultural Society and Mechanics' Institute, published 1856.
Ira Jones, Esq., a gentleman, held in very high esteem by his fellow citizens, resided in this town. He represented his district in Assembly of tha Legislature a few years since, and has for several years been chairman of the
Passage source: History of Rock County, and Transactions of the Rock County Agricultural Society and Mechanics' Institute, published 1856.
Board of Supervisors, besides holding other offices of trust. Mr. J., during tie past winter, while drawing wood, fell from the load and the wheel of the loaded wagon passed over his body, injuring him so severely, that he died in a few hours.
Passage source: History of Rock County, and Transactions of the Rock County Agricultural Society and Mechanics' Institute, published 1856.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Union Town - it names this place 26 more 26 times.
Fires near this place
17 since 2004Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 17 fires within 5 miles of Union between 2004 and 2020, burning about 252 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 5 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 July 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 83 |
| 14 July 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 26 acres | Leopold Wetland Management District | BIGLOW RD |
| 11 July 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 2019135 |
| 5 May 2013 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | TRAILER DRAGGING |
| 3 May 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 55 |
| 1 May 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 54 |
| 9 April 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 2019076 |
| 8 April 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | BADFISH |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Union: 6 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brunsell Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Brunsell Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Halverson Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Knutson Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Reindahl Quarries | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Rock County Highway Department | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Union Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Wealti Limestone Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
8 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Union in 8 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 6 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2006 | Hail | Union | $4,360,000 | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Union | $75,000 | Trees and power lines down in a large swath from northwestern to southeastern Rock County. In the city of Janesville, at least 3 cars were damaged by felled trees or tree branch debris. Several roads were temporarily blocked by tree debris. |
| October 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Union | $20,000 | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Union | $1,000 | no account filed |
| March 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Union | - | Trees down in the Town of Union. |
| March 2007 | Hail | Union | - | no account filed |
| June 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Union | - | no account filed |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Union | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evansville | 3.1 miles | 19 | |
| Cooksville | 3.3 miles | 19 | |
| Stebbinsville | 7.0 miles | 19 | |
| Fellows (historical) | 7.5 miles | 16 | |
| Magnolia | 7.5 miles | 17 | |
| Cainville | 8.3 miles | 17 | |
| Fulton | 9.3 miles | 19 | |
| Leyden | 11.2 miles | 16 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Union | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7885337 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1575858. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.









