Unionville Center was originally founded as Unionville. The name was changed upon application for a post office as there was already a Unionville in Ohio.
Unionville Center
This village was called Unionville in its earliest days. The town was built upon land originally owned by Benjamin Cutler. Mr. Cutler built a house on the site years before the organization of Unionville. He also maintained a small country store. The Darby Seceder Church was formed in the area in 1824. It would later be known as the Unionville United Presbyterian Church. Around 1835 this congregation built their first church building. This building was used until a larger building was built between 1856 to 1857. John and Frederick Sager built a saw mill on Big Darby Creek, near the village site, in 1835. The village was platted on February 8, 1847 by Union County Surveyor, William B. Irwin, originally containing 15 lots and 2 streets. On May 11, 1852 Charles Warren Fairbanks was born near Unionville Center. He would later become the Vice President of the United States, serving under Theodore Roosevelt. The Fairbanks Local School District would later be named to honor this man. The Methodist Church at Unionville, first organized in the 1820s, built a church building in the village between 1856 and 1858. The village was officially recognized on March 3, 1879 by the county government, with the official name being Unionville Center. Upon its organization, there were over 200 residents of the village. The first village elections were held in 1879, with F. N. Mattoon elected first mayor. This town once supported a tannery, two sawmills, a flour mill, a school, and a tile factory.
The Darby Rural School District was chartered in 1915. A substantial brick building was built by this district in 1925. The school district was consolidated with the Chuckery School district in 1937. This district was known as Chuckery-Darby School, and it was eventually consolidated into the Fairbanks Local School District.
Unionville Station
Unionville was often referred to as Unionville Station due to its location on the railroad.
Would love any information you may have on the Fairbanks Hotel that was part of the Fairbanks Springs. It was an octagonal building and is seen in the distance in a picture of the old church beforem it was moved. My grandmother was born and raised in Unionville in 1914 and I know it was still there when she was a teenager. She said she used to play over there.
ReplyDelete