Union Grove Township is a township in Meeker County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 633 according to the 2010 census. Union Grove Township was settled in 1856 by Lyman Allen, AndrewHamilton, John Lowell Haywood, and a man named Baker. Allen and Haywood returned to Massachusetts in 1860. Baker died in Union Grove for unknown reasons. I don’t know if he was related to the Baker who was killed in the Acton Massacre. Lyman Allen named the town, but no one knows the reason behind it. Patriotism and trees? The township was organized on April 18, 1866. Charles H. McCune, the postmaster in Union Grove, had built a small house on a hill overlooking the Crow River in Union Grove Township. Charles did something unusual for the times when he built his house. He put in a back door. Doors and windows were used sparingly in the pioneer days as they were costly and were places to lose much needed heat in Minnesota’s cold winters. Charles was out working in his field and his wife, Catherine, was in the house cooking his noon meal. She had the back door open, as it was a warm morning, and her cooking made her kitchen even warmer. Catherine glanced up from her work and noticed a small group of Indians approaching the house on the back door’s side. They had war paint on their faces. Her immediate thoughts were to get Annie, her small baby in the other room, and run for it, but she realized that would only make the Indians pursue her. Instead, she went to the rear door and greeted the Indians with some food. “Please come into my house and share my food,” she said to the braves, smiling and holding out some great smelling fresh bread. The Indians grabbed the bread and devoured it, following her into the house. No doubt they were very hungry. “Please sit,” she said, pulling out a chair. The Indians understood and sat down while Catherine hustled around the kitchen serving them everything she could find. Little Annie gave out a muffled cry and the Indians hardly looked up from their eating as the white woman went into the next room. There Catherine picked up Annie and quietly slipped out the front door. The Indians were used to white men’s houses with only one door so they never thought to check on the woman. The frightened woman ran down the hill to where her husband and some other men were mowing hay. “There’s a war party of Indians in our house, Charles,” Catherine yelled, running up to her husband. Wiping his brow, it took only a few seconds for Charles to grasp the situation. He ran over to the other men, talked briefly, and then he grabbed his wife and baby and they took off running on the trail to Manannah, five miles to the east. Along the way, they warned all the settlers they could find. David B. Hoar and Jeremiah Leaming were two of the settlers. Fortunately, most were in their homes at the time eating their noon meal instead of in their fields. They all grabbed their guns, hitched up their wagons, threw in some possessions, and started a wagon train for Manannah. The Indians destroyed Leaming’s grain in the field and burned his house down during his absence. Back at the McCune house, a brave went to check on the missing white woman and found the front door open. He alerted the others and they took off to find the escaping woman. The settlers had only gone about a mile towards Manannah when they saw the Indians coming, approaching from their rear. By this time, however, the settlers outnumbered the braves, who stopped in their tracks, talked amongst themselves, and then turned and left. Catherine McCune’s quick thinking and the two door cabin no doubt saved many lives that day. The population of Union Grove was 633 according to the 2010 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 36.0 square miles, of which 35.2 square miles is land and 0.8 square miles is water. Union Grove Township is located in Township 121 North of the Arkansas Base Line and Range 32 West of the 5th Principal Meridian.
Demographics
According to the 2010 census, there were 633 people, 228 households and 186 families residing in the township. The population density was 17.8 per square mile. There were 301 housing units at an average density of 8.6/sq mi. The racial makeup of the township was 98.6% White. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.4% of the population. There were 230 households of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.3% were married couples living together, 3.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.6% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.16. 27.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 117.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.2 males. The median household income was $44,732 and the median family income was $52,813. Males had a median income of $30,694 and females $20,893. The per capita income was $21,157. About 2.2% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under the age of 18 and none of those 65 and older.
