Eventually I get around to things.
Many months ago, December 2012 to be precise, loyal reader “Joe” commented on an article. However, don’t confuse him with that other Loyal Reader Joe (a.k.a. Spammy Joe). Anyway, I called that original article “Short Distance Namesakes” for towns in close proximity sharing a name independently.
He mentioned the interesting situation of Union City; conjoined towns straddling the Indiana-Ohio border. They didn’t meet the exact criteria of the earlier article, as he duly noted, although their predicament warranted further attention. I stacked it on my pile of possible topics and I finally got around to it.
Joe even included a link to an old clipping from the July 17, 1980 edition of the Palm Beach Post, a reprint from an Associated Press wire article. Unfortunately the link no longer works so you’ll have to take my word for it.
The Situation
It presented an interesting story that’s probably worth a few minutes of your time. Even so, I’ll try to summarize it in a few words if you don’t want to bother clicking to it.
Union City was… “a tale of two towns with two school systems, two fire departments, two police forces, two area codes — two of almost everything one town needs.” The article went on to explain several petty inconveniences and grievances. For example, Ohio mail required an Indiana address. Also, Indiana factories followed Ohio time at the annual switch to Daylight Saving Time. Finally, the article noted various financial and governmental redundancies of a population split between two states.
Most interestingly, it referenced “the geographic oddity… traced to a survey error by the federal government in 1798 that gave Indiana a piece of Ohio.” Naturally that caught my eye. Officials apparently “discovered” the mistake when police on both sides of the line tried to figure out who should punish brawlers in a bar fight. “The Authorities couldn’t decide whether the case belonged in Randolf County, Ind., or Darke County, Ohio, so they sent James Surber, Darke County engineer, to resurvey the boundary.” The Ohio boundary should have been a half-mile farther west, the article concluded, and most of Indian’s portion of Union City should become part of Ohio.
Hilarity ensued.
Let’s fast-forward another thirtysomething years
The two Union Cities, while continuing to operate separately, have actually grown closer in several respects since 1980. They even have a joint sign that proclaims themselves collectively as a “hub of two states.” Relations seem congenial.
Two primary annoyances dissipated on their own. Ohio mail no longer bears an Indiana address. Union City, Ohio now uses zip code 45390 while Union City, Indiana requires 47390. Also, since 2006, all counties in Indiana began observing Daylight Saving Time. Today, Ohio and Indiana are both within the Eastern Time Zone observing DST. So now they always follow the same time all year long.
About That Error
I’d like to elaborate on the 1798 “survey error.” Frankly, the reporter exaggerated the situation to make things more interesting. Both states knew about the error for nearly a century. They agreed long ago to make the de facto border official. More than likely, Supreme Court precedence would have upheld that same position even if Ohio ever wanted to dispute it because so much time had passed. And besides, Union City in Indiana didn’t even exist until 1849.(¹) That happened well after surveyors marked the border, error and all.
Thank you, Joe. This one took some interesting twists I hadn’t anticipated and I thoroughly enjoyed pulling at the threads.
12MC Loves Footnotes!
(¹) Union City was founded at the intersection of several railroad lines. Anyone bothering to check the history link would have noticed a reference to an incarnation of the Bee Line. See how all of these 12MC articles tie together?
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