Union · McHenry County · IL
Homes for sale in
Union.
- Active listings
- 3
- Median list
- $340K
- Avg time on market
- 7 days
- Sold · last year
- 19
Active listings
3 homes on the market
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About the community
Living in Union.
Union is one of the smallest incorporated communities in McHenry County, a roughly 0.84-square-mile village set among the farmland of the county's western edge. Most buyers come here for the rural setting and the larger lots, with the convenience of Marengo's shops and schools a few minutes southwest. The village is best known nationally as the home of the Illinois Railway Museum, the largest railroad museum in the country, which draws visitors from across the Midwest. Day to day this is quiet, drive-everywhere country living, with the typical Union worker reporting a commute around 30 minutes. There is no Metra station in the village itself, so commuters use the Union Pacific Northwest line stations in Woodstock or Crystal Lake. Homeownership runs high here at roughly 88 percent, and the housing stock skews toward single-family homes on generous lots.
At a glance
~551 residents
The 2020 census counted 551 residents in a village of about 0.84 square miles, one of the smallest in McHenry County.
Illinois Railway Museum
The largest railroad museum in the United States, with over 500 pieces of equipment on an 80-plus-acre campus at 7000 Olson Road in Union.
Marengo-area schools
Served by Marengo-Union Elementary CSD 165 for PK-8 and Marengo Community High School District 154 for grades 9-12.
Rural setting
A small village surrounded by McHenry County farmland, draining north toward the South Branch of the Kishwaukee River.
~88% homeownership
Roughly 88 percent of housing units are owner-occupied, well above the national average, on generous single-family lots.
Drive-everywhere commute
Most residents drive alone to work, with an average commute of about 30 minutes; there is no Metra station in the village.
Engineering first
Union was the site of the world's first fully automatic electrical substation, near the present village water tower.
Anchored to Marengo
The City of Marengo, just southwest, provides Union's primary shopping, dining, and schools.
What’s close
Union sits in western McHenry County's Coral Township, surrounded by farmland and anchored to the City of Marengo just southwest, with US Route 20 and Illinois Route 176 carrying regional traffic through the area.
- Illinois Railway Museum
- At 7000 Olson Road, the country's largest railroad museum and the village's signature destination.
- Nearby Marengo
- The adjacent city to the southwest, anchoring schools, dining, and everyday shopping for Union.
- Roads
- US Route 20 runs through nearby Marengo, with Illinois Route 176 crossing the area to the east toward Crystal Lake.
- Rural surroundings
- Open farmland and country roads define the village edge, with the South Branch of the Kishwaukee River draining to the north.
- Donley Auctions
- Occupies the former Donley's Wild West Town site, continuing the family's antiques and collectibles business.
- McHenry County Historical Society
- The county's historical society and museum are based in Union.
What it’s actually like to live here
Life in Union is rural and car-dependent. The village covers less than a square mile and sits among working farmland, so most errands, schools, and jobs involve a short drive, typically into Marengo or out to the larger McHenry County towns. Census figures put the average commute around 30 minutes, with the vast majority of residents driving alone, and households here average about two cars. The trade-off for that drive-everywhere pattern is space: larger lots, quiet roads, and a high rate of homeownership at roughly 88 percent.
Recreation in and around Union leans on its rail heritage and the surrounding countryside. The Illinois Railway Museum operates electric trains from spring through fall and steam and diesel trains across the warmer months, making it a regular weekend draw. Just southwest in Marengo and the wider area, seasonal farms such as Cody's Farm and Orchard and All Seasons Orchard offer apple and pumpkin picking, corn mazes, and hayrides in the fall. For everyday dining and services, residents look to Marengo's Grant Highway corridor.
Neighborhoods
Detailed Union community pages coming soon.
Browse the listings above. Detailed neighborhood pages with market stats, school info, and lifestyle take-downs land here as we roll them out.
Schools
Districts serving Union.
Boundary lines do shift. Always confirm in writing for a specific address before writing an offer.
- D165Grades PK-8
Marengo-Union Elementary Consolidated School District 165
Schools serving the area
- Locust Elementary School
- Ulysses S. Grant Intermediate School
- Marengo Community Middle School
Marengo-Union CSD 165 serves Marengo and Union for PK-8 and was formed in 1986 by consolidating the former Union, Hawthorn, and Marengo elementary districts. Boundaries do not follow village limits, so confirm the assigned school for a specific parcel.
- D154Grades 9-12
Marengo Community High School District 154
Schools serving the area
- Marengo Community High School
Marengo Community High School serves students from Marengo, the Village of Union, and surrounding rural McHenry County. Verify the assigned high school for a specific Union address.
Around town
What there is to do in Union.
A handful of the places people who live here actually use. Not a directory.
- Culture
Illinois Railway Museum
The largest railroad museum in the United States, with operating electric, steam, and diesel trains on an 80-plus-acre campus at 7000 Olson Road.
- Culture
McHenry County Historical Society & Museum
A local-history museum and archive based in Union, preserving the county's heritage.
- Shopping
Donley Auctions
Antiques, collectibles, and estate auctions on the former Wild West Town property at 8512 S Union Road.
- Family
Cody's Farm and Orchard
Seasonal apple and pumpkin picking, a corn maze, and hayrides at 19502 River Road in nearby Marengo.
- Family
All Seasons Orchard
An apple orchard, pumpkin patch, corn maze, and family attractions on IL Route 176 in the nearby Woodstock area.
- Food & Drink
Cafe 20
An American restaurant with wood-fired pizza, steaks, and seafood on Grant Highway in nearby Marengo.
Getting around
Commute + transit from Union.
- Routes: US 20 (Grant Highway) · IL 176 · Union Road
- O'Hare Airport: ~50 min
- Chicago Loop: ~72 min
By the numbers
Union taxes + market stats.
Property tax rates vary by exact township and assessor district. Confirm per address before pricing a purchase.
Property tax rate
1.97%
effective avg
Sales tax
7.25%
combined
Median sold price
$416,000
MRED · last 12 mo (19 sales)
Median household income
$89,844
ACS
How Union got here
A bit of history.
Union began as a railroad town. It was platted in 1851 as a station on the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, and a post office named Union has operated since 1852. The name refers to the federal union of the United States. The village did not boom as some rail towns did, but it incorporated in 1897, and in the years that followed it built out municipal water and an electrical grid. Union was also the site of the world's first fully automatic electrical substation, located on the current site of the village water tower just east of Main Street.
Union's modern identity is tied to preservation and rural character. In March 1964 the Illinois Railway Museum relocated to Union along a former interurban right-of-way, and it has since grown into the largest railroad museum in the United States, with more than 500 pieces of equipment on a campus exceeding 80 acres. For decades the village was also home to Donley's Wild West Town, a family amusement park founded in 1974 that operated until around 2021; the property is now home to Donley Auctions. Through these changes Union has stayed small and rural, anchored commercially and educationally to neighboring Marengo.
The questions buyers actually ask
Union FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping Union. If yours isn't here, text 224-385-8779, same-day reply.
- What school districts serve Union, IL?
- Union addresses are generally served by Marengo-Union Elementary CSD 165 for PK through grade 8 and by Marengo Community High School District 154 for grades 9 through 12. Boundaries do not match village limits, so confirm the specific district for any individual parcel before writing an offer.
- Is there a Metra station in Union?
- No. Union has no Metra station. The nearest stations are in Woodstock and Crystal Lake on the Union Pacific Northwest line, both a drive east of the village.
- How long is the commute to Chicago from Union?
- Union sits about 55 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, which is roughly a 70 to 75 minute drive depending on traffic, and O'Hare is closer to 50 minutes. Most local commuters drive, with the typical Union worker reporting about a 30 minute commute overall.
- What are property taxes like in Union?
- The median effective property tax rate in Union is about 1.97 percent, which is below the McHenry County median of 2.42 percent. On a median home value near $308,000 that works out to a typical bill around $6,000, though you should always verify the actual bill for a specific property.
- What is Union best known for?
- Union is the home of the Illinois Railway Museum, the largest railroad museum in the United States, with operating historic trains on an 80-plus-acre campus. The village is also home to the McHenry County Historical Society and Museum.
- What kind of community is Union, and where should buyers look?
- Union is a small, rural village of well under 1,000 people in western McHenry County, with a high homeownership rate and larger country lots. Buyers typically look at single-family homes in and just outside the village, and lean on neighboring Marengo for shopping, dining, and schools.
- Who is the real estate agent for Union?
- Joe Keegan is the local licensed Illinois real estate broker who covers Union in Union, IL through Subdiview, a neighborhood-first home search for the Chicago suburbs and collar counties. Joe prices and negotiates from the live MRED sold comps for Union specifically, not national averages, and can help you buy or sell here. Reach Joe at 224-385-8779 or joe@joekeeganhomes.com.
Nearby
Towns next to Union.
If you’re cross-shopping the area, these are the places that border Union.
Your local agent
Joe knows Union
Most agents will list anything. I focus on the places I actually know, and the things that move value here don't show up in the MLS write-up: which streets and buildings hold demand, what the HOA or assessments really cover, how the comps read once you account for condition and location, and where buyers consistently want to be.
When you're ready to tour or list, you want someone who has read the last 50 closed comps in this specific market, not a national average, and can tell you what they actually mean for your price. That's how I work. Text or call any time, and I'll give you a real take, not a brochure.
- Licensed Illinois broker
- Comp-driven pricing
- Union specialist
- Honest local market take
- Brokerocity
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