6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 25 buildings. Most of Grove Hill was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1986 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: the first Grove Hill post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1832.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Grove Hill’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Grove Hill is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Grove Hill’s overall grade.
Alabama towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Alabama town has 2.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Grove Hill’s 128 sits above most of its state (86% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 30 historic buildings outnumber those of 82% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1832 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Grove Hill’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area that is now Grove Hill was originally inhabited by Creek and Choctaw Indians. During the Creek War, settlers in the community sought protection in Fort White. The county seat of Clarke County was established at what later became Grove Hill in 1832 as the spot was most central to the rest of the county. Known variously as Smithville, then Macon, the name Grove Hill was selected around 1850 for the large grove of oak trees on the plateau. The town was officially incorporated and chartered in 1929. The 1853 yellow fever epidemic struck the town, killing many residents, almost wiping out the town.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Grove Hill’s post office has been open since 1828.
Gone or out of use
Clarke County FarmlocaleGrove Hill Municipal AirportairportSouth Alabama Infirmaryhospital
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Grove Hill
Grove HillMagnolia LawnWilson Chapel
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Grove Hill’s history
What year was Grove Hill founded?
The Grove Hill post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1832.
How does Grove Hill rank for history?
Grove Hill is more historic than 74% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Grove Hill?
6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Dickinson House (listed 1978, the first), and 1 historic district, the Grove Hill Courthouse Square Historic District, with 25 contributing buildings. 30 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Grove Hill?
6% of Grove Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.8 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1972.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
Date?
Date?
2021