Michael Glod, of Coventry, orders pastries from Heather Selman, of Chepachet, at Wright’s Dairy Farm.

Elizabeth Dulude’s great grandfather started dairy farming in Union Village in North Smithfield in the early 1900s, and today, the popular bakery at Wright’s Dairy Farm has helped sustain a thriving family business with more than 40 employees.

Dulude’s father, Edward Wright, runs the business and lives in a house across the street from the farm; her cousins live in the original farmhouse. Dulude’s brother and sister, and her husband and brother-in-law all assist in the operation. More than 130 cows provide the milk and dairy products sold on site, and fresh ingredients for many of the sweets sold in the busy farm store.

In a town where the major political issue in the past year has been development— specifically, the 120-acre Dowling Village shopping complex on Route 146A — the hills and fields at Wright’s and a nearby horse farm, and the historic Federal-style houses in Union Village are a reminder of the town’s rural past.

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Dulude lives in Burrillville now, but says Union Village is a place where “a lot of families have been there a long time.” Jen Smith, 22, has been working part-time at Wright’s since she was 15 and has lived all her life in Union Village.

“It’s really nice, safe, peaceful,” said Smith, who is training to be an x-ray technician. “There’s not really too much crazy going on. … There are a lot of friendly neighbors. I like it. It’s family-oriented.”

Smith lives with her parents, who grew up in nearby Smithfield. “We’re pretty comfortable here,” she said.

Rita Benoit, a real-estate agent with RE/MAX Town & Country in Cumberland, has lived on Woonsocket Hill Road in Union Village for more than 18 years, in a house built shortly after the World War II by a French family that owned a mill in Woonsocket. Benoit said building materials were scarce after the war, so the family “imported everything from France” for the house, built as a gift for a daughter.

“This particular home I’ve loved since I was a little kid; I’ve owned several houses in town,” said Benoit. She said when she was a child, her father would comment on the house on their trips to Wright’s. “My dad would always point to that house and say, ‘That’s where the rich people live,’ ” she said. “I wish he was still around. I’d tell him, ‘The rich people don’t live there anymore!’ ”

Benoit’s children grew up in North Smithfield, and her daughter lives in a new housing development, Union Hill, that is near the village. Benoit said prices for the new houses there range from the $600,000s to more than $1 million. But in the village itself, asking prices for houses in the state’s Multiple Listing Service range from $249,000 for a four-bedroom ranch to $419,900 for an updated 1902 four-bedroom Colonial.

“It’s a very convenient location because we’re so close to everything; we’re 22 minutes to Providence and 32 minutes to Worcester, and not far from Boston,” Benoit said. She added that although the town is quaint, she is looking forward to having more shopping close by at Dowling Village. “You can’t buy a shirt in town now, or a piece of lumber,” she said.

cdunn@projo.com