Unionville's History
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Originally established in the 1700s as the Union District in Farmington, the official naming of Unionville did not occur until 1834, when the U.S. Post Office formally established a post office for the village and officially named it. The naming followed the fashionable trend of the time of attaching the French suffix “ville”—meaning city or town—to place names in the decades following the American Revolution. Some early sources also refer to the area as Langdon’s Quarter, Lovelytown, and Union Village. Although there was some limited settlement of the Union District by the late 1700s, the area rapidly grew with the harnessing of waterpower to operate mills and manufactories. By the mid-1830s, the area became a hive of industrial activity as entrepreneurs and workers flocked to Unionville’s water-powered mills and factories. Over the next century, Unionville’s manufacturing prowess would stand out among Farmington Valley towns and the nearby highly industrialized cities of New Britain and Bristol. A wide variety of items were made in Unionville: clocks, mousetraps, axe helves, gun stocks, fine writing paper, nuts and bolts, woven felt, cotton batting, cabinet furniture, ball bearings, oyster tongs, cutlery, razors, carpenter’s tools, and more. At the same time all the manufacturing activity was going on, a village of churches, schools, and homes was built as well. In less than three quarters of a century from the time Unionville was named, it could boast four churches (Congregational, Methodist, Roman Catholic, and Episcopal), one of the first high schools in Connecticut, a town hall, and comfortable, well-built homes along tree-lined streets that would be the envy of any community. Civic-minded residents worked for village improvements, including street lighting, a water company, and perhaps most importantly a fire district. Early in the 20th century, Unionville became, in the words of Margaret Hepburn Perry, “The tail that wagged the dog,” which in 1905 led some in Farmington to try to split off Unionville from Farmington. The effort failed, with a sometimes-uneasy alliance between the towns in the ensuing years. Unionville’s second century has presented some significant challenges. The Great Depression, the decline of manufacturing, the catastrophic flood of 1955, and the redevelopment of Unionville Center in the 1960s all posed significant challenges to Unionville’s identity. Through all this, Unionville has maintained a strong spirit, with an attitude not of resignation but of resiliency and creative reinvention. After nearly 200 years, Unionville remains at its essence what it started out as: a quintessential New England village. |
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This overview of Unionville's history is from "Unionville - Images of America" by Cliff Alderman. Cliff was a founding member of the Unionville Museum and served on the Museum board for many years. His contributions were invaluable. Copies of his pictorial history of Unionville are available at the Museum, when we are open for an exhibit or event, or on Amazon (paperback or Kindle). It is an excellent pictorial overview illustrating different aspects of Unionville's history. Most of the photographs, like the ones shown here, are from the Museum's collection.
