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History · Western Grove

Western Grove’s post office opened in 1886, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1950.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Western Grove began

When was Western Grove founded?

1886

The Western Grove post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Marshall Prairie (1854), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 184 in 19502020 census: 354140 years
Founding year: the first Western Grove post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Western Grove’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Western Grove are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18935 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1985. Watch Western Grove change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Western Grove’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Western Grove’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Western Grove on the map, 1893 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Western Grove. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Western Grove on the 1893 USGS mapWestern Grove on the 1903 USGS mapWestern Grove on the 1929 USGS mapWestern Grove on the 1967 USGS mapWestern Grove on the 1985 USGS map1893Yellville sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Western Grove.

The story so far

Western Grove, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Western Grove yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Western Grove is a town in northeastern Newton County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, Western Grove had a population of 354. It is part of the Harrison Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1886. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 384 to 354 (-8%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Western Grove, 1854 to 1893

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854Post officeThe Marshall Prairie post office opens
  3. 1886Post officeThe Marshall Prairie post office closes
  4. 1886Post officeThe Western Grove post office opens
  5. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Western Grove, decade by decade

Today5 recent
USPO2024USPODollar General and sign for commercial strip2024Dollar General and sign for commercial stripCommercial strip2024Commercial stripBank building and U.S. 652024Bank building and U.S. 65ARMap-doton-Western Grove2005ARMap-doton-Western Grove
People over time

Western Grove, census by census

01002003004001960198020002020Peak: 415

Between 148 and 415 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Western Grove’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Western Grove

Nobody well known was born in Western Grove itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Elton BrittCountry music guitarist and singer-songwriter · b. 1912
Davis Tutt19th-century American Old West gambler · b. 1836
John Paul HammerschmidtAmerican politician · b. 1922
Gracie PfostAmerican politician · b. 1906
Jack WilliamsUnited States Navy Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1924
B
Brandon BurlsworthAmerican football player · b. 1976
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Western Grove’s post office has been open since 1886. Another post office, Marshall Prairie, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Marshall Prairie
1854–1886
Western Grove
1886–today
18501940today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Western Grove’s history

What year was Western Grove founded?

The Western Grove post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), 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.