sentences:  The area was first settled in the mid-18th century and became a part of Albemarle County in 1761.The village was originally referred to as Nicksville after a free slave blacksmith named Nick, who opened a blacksmith's shop there in the early 19th century.When a post office was established in 1847, it was given the name of Free Union to avoid confusion with Nixville, another post office in the county.