Union Township, NJ

Formed in 1808 from portions of Elizabethtown, Union historically encompassed a massive agricultural area known as Connecticut Farms. It was the site of the Battle of Connecticut Farms in 1780, where British forces burned the Presbyterian church. Union is home to the "Union Watersphere," a 212-foot-tall water tower built in 1964 that was the tallest of its kind in the world and became a beloved New Jersey pop-culture landmark.

Today, Union is a demographic melting pot with strong Hispanic, African American, and Portuguese populations. The township has several commercial centers, including the historic center on Stuyvesant Avenue and the massive retail sprawl along Route 22. Union is currently known for the massive expansion of Kean University, which has transformed the southern edge of the town into a bustling college hub, as well as rapid mixed-use development near the train station.

Union is unique due to its sheer scale and the presence of a major state university, giving parts of it a distinct college-town feel that doesn't exist elsewhere in the county. A local would want outsiders to understand that Union is not a monolith; navigating it requires knowing the distinct personalities of neighborhoods like Vauxhall, Connecticut Farms, and the Kean corridor.