VISITS
VILLAGE OF
UNION DEPOSIT
HEAVY GRAPHICS ~ PLEASE WAIT FOR DOWNLOAD
It has been cold, so Connie made a coat for me and
I have it on. Don't tell her that it's not too warm.
In fact, I'd say it's "paper-thin!" hahaha!
The Village of Union Deposit grew around the canal.
During the Civil War (1861-1865), Union Deposit was a
"booming" town. Supplies for the Union Army were
shipped and sent by way of the canal. The Union
Canal was the"drop-off" and "pick-up" stop for
the Union Army.
Union Deposit had all the necessities of a town ~
like a post office, general store, hotel and such.
When the canal went into disuse in 1885, eventually,
the people of the town moved on to where there was
more work. There are approximately 300 residents
of the Village at present. There are still several
businesses in "UD", as you will see below. Also,
1 of the 4 elementary schools in the school district
is a block away from Connie. (More below)
Hershey now takes care of the postal needs of our village.
Here I am standing by part of the remains of
the Union Canal. It runs a few hundred feet North of
the Swatara ("The Swatty")Creek and then turns into
the creek. In the picture, it doesn't
look too deep. However, the bank where I am
standing drops off about five (5) feet into
the canal. Connie didn't want me getting too close
to the edge. She never let her boys play around the
canal for fear they would slip on the bank and fall in!
South Hanover Township has built a public park around
the canal. It has a picnic area with a grill, playground,
pavillion, a volleyball court and three (3) baseball/soccer fields.
You can also fish, swim, wade, tube or canoe in the Swatara Creek
which flows into the Susquehanna River. Connie's family used to take Thunder down to the creek to swim, but
as it became a popular "fishing hole", they were afraid she may get
a lost hook in her paw. Also, her boys played baseball in the park
for many years.
"Union" was also a "stop-over" on the Underground
Railroad. Remnants of the Underground Railroad
tunnels connecting the homes on Canal Street
remain today. When I return to you, Connie will send the
recent newspaper article written about the Village ~ it has
a picture of one of the tunnels.
This is South Hanover Elementary School.
When Connie's husband was a youngster,
he attended school there, as did her boys
when they were in elementary school. Both the boys
had three (3) of the same teachers that their father
had had when he went to school there. The picture
only shows one side of the school. Over the last
12 or so years, many renovations and remodeling have
been done to expand and improve the schools in this
district.
Did you know that "Pennsylvania" means "Penn's Woods"?
It is named for William Penn who founded Pennsylvania.
There are many trees and waterways as well as fish and wildlife.
Below are some pictures of me climbing in the trees in
Swatara Park.
In the middle of this picture, close to the top,
you can see Spring Creek emptying
into Swatara Creek.
This is a well-known and well-liked Restaurant and Bed and
Breakfast in the Village. It also has old tunnels that
go under the street to houses on Canal Street.
One of the businesses in Union is Grubb Welding.
The owner and his family live 2 doors down from
Connie's family.
This is Connie's church; Zion Lutheran Church. Erected in 1845,
it is the oldest church in the Village. Some of the stained glass
windows are original to the church.
This is the Union Deposit United Methodist Church. The steeple
on top, houses chimes which play every day at 11:30a.m. and 6p.m.
The Union Deposit Volunteer Fire Company is maintained by
volunteers from South Hanover Township. It is located across
the street and 2 doors down from Connie's. When the siren blew
in the middle of the night during my visit, I nearly jumped
off my paper! The rest of the family must have learned to
ignore the sound, because they slept right though the loud noise!
Sometimes, training exercises are conducted next to the building.
Mostly, the volunteers have training at other, special locations.
Also, a satellite station of the UD fire company is
located approximately 5 miles from Union Deposit in the
Village of Hoernerstown ("Hoernerstown" is also part of
South Hanover Township).
The Village of Union Deposit is part of South Hanover Township.
This is the municipal building (seat of government for the township).
Even in this small village, there is an auto body shop!
It is located next door to the municipal building.
This is the veterinarian's office that Thunder goes to.
It is located across the street from the school
Pick... oh, I mean Click the berries along
Swatara Creek to return to my HomePage
This was a popular song of the soldiers during the Civil War.
Click the name of the song to see the lyrics.