More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #460 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Grover Beach was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1960.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1947.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Grover Beach’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Grover Beach is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #460 of 847 in California. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Grover Beach’s overall grade.
Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Grover Beach’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (31% of California towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1887.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Grover Beach’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Grover Beach was originally known as Town of Grover, which was founded on August 1, 1887. The town was named for its founder, D. W. Grover.
Grover filed his plans at the San Luis Obispo County Court House and eventually founded what was to be known as City of Grover City. There was a popular vote that allowed incorporating on December 21, 1959, as City of Grover City. However, the name seemed redundant so some people sought better names, especially ocean-oriented names. In 1992, there was another popular vote, in which the town's name was officially changed from "City of Grover City" to "Grover Beach" to emphasize the seaside location.
In 1887, according to Wikidata. Grover Beach’s post office opened in 1947, and the census of 1960 counted 5,210 people here.
How does Grover Beach rank for history?
Grover Beach is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #460 of 847 in California. 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.
How old are the homes in Grover Beach?
3% of Grover Beach’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 (18), 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.
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