The Town of Union Vale, located within central Dutchess County in Upstate New York, encompasses the beautiful Clove Valley. This valley, created by Clove Mountain to the west and East Mountain to the east, is largely rural. Currently on the edge of the ever-expanding New York Metropolitan Area, the town is located 10 miles east of Poughkeepsie. With easy access to two Metro North Commuter Rail stops, a small airport and the Taconic State Parkway, and with its scenic vistas and rural charm, the town is in an attractive area for residential development.

The town's written history dates back to the first half of the 18th century when European settlers began building farms in the Clove Valley. Shortly after the establishment of these farming settlements, an offshoot of the Quaker's Oblong Meeting in Pawling was established in Union Vale. The Quakers built the Oswego Meeting House, Cemetery and a Friends Boarding School. Early farmers in the town focused on dairy production and by the second half of the 19th century the town was a "busy milk stop on the Dutchess and Columbia rail line." Iron mines, furnaces and mills were also built in the valley.

Today, some of the town's remaining agricultural enterprises include dairies, horse, cattle and sheep farms, feed production farms and tree farms. Other large-scale rural land uses include hunting and fishing, which occur on private lands owned by the town's rod and gun clubs. While the town does not have any major industrial or commercial uses, the small airport is one of the more intensive uses. Areas of the town that are zoned both A-Airport and C2-Highway Commercial, permit the most intensive uses. Residential, agricultural and open space uses are the dominant land uses within the town.