Located at the west end of Farmington, the village of Unionville was first recognized as
such by the U.S. Postal Service in 1834. Earlier it was called Langdon's Quarter and
then Union District. Residents took full advantage of the Farmington River by diverting
it into canals to power the growing number of factories and mills. By the 1850's,
Unionville had gained its manufacturing stature in the Farmington Valley by producing
a variety of goods, such as clocks, writing paper, wooden and tin buttons, saws, gun
stocks, furniture, knives, paper boxes, caskets, flutes, oyster tongs, nuts, bolts, and
wooden screws. An influx of Irish, Italian, and Slavic immigrants, attracted by
opportunities to work, contributed to Unionville's further growth. Many mills and shops
prospered well into the 20th century, until the flood of 1955 wiped out much of the
center of Unionville and neighborhoods along the river. A redevelopment project in the
late 1960s-early 1970s changed Unionville's character from an industrial village to a
suburban center.
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