West Union’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold just one old photo of West Union. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗West Union dates to the early 19th century, with settlement documented by the 1830s and incorporation occurring in 1870. Its development was closely tied to nearby Walhalla, established in 1850 from land in the same area and later named the county seat in 1868, linking the towns through early regional growth.
Lake Keowee, created in the early 1970s as part of a Duke Energy hydroelectric and nuclear power generation project, has influenced West Union by providing nearby water‑based recreation and strengthening the area’s connection to the broader outdoor and tourism economy of Oconee County.
West Union elected Dorothy “Dot” Gibson, their first female mayor, from 2002-2004. She was a long time town council member.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Start West Union’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Union’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🗓️Date a photo1 archive item has no date+2 🔁Retake an old viewJ. R. Strother House, State Route…: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10West Union, decade by decade
2000
unknown1 item
Nothing in West Union is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean West Union has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Walhalla Graded School in Walhalla, 1.4 miles away.
West Union and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as J. R. Strother House, State Routes 28 & 11 (Old Georgian Road) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (3) and the Library of Congress (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.