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History · Grand Ridge

Grand Ridge’s post office opened in 1889

Most of Grand Ridge was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: maps from 1952 on and the census since 1960.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: The Bushranger · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Grand Ridge began

When was Grand Ridge founded?

1889

The Grand Ridge post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 415 in 19602020 census: 882137 years
Founding year: the first Grand Ridge post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Grand Ridge’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 Grand Ridge are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Grand Ridge’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Grand Ridge’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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The story

How Grand Ridge came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Grand Ridge.

Read it all →

In 1860, Judge John Thomas Porter and his wife Phoebe J. Porter (née Finley) moved from New Salem, Fayette County, Pennsylvania to Illinois with their son Ebenezer F. Porter (born 1859), close to Grand Ridge, Illinois in LaSalle County, Illinois, where they lived on a farm until 1872. Porter was at first a farmer, and afterward a lumberman and grain dealer. In 1872, he moved into Grand Ridge, Illinois proper, and built and operated two grain elevators. In 1881, he moved to Florida and engaged in the lumber business. He founded the Town of Grand Ridge, Florida, naming it in honor of his old Illinois home.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Grand Ridge, decade by decade

Today4 recent
NB FL69 from US902026NB FL69 from US90FGA crossing of FL692026FGA crossing of FL69Allen Childs Park2026Allen Childs ParkFLMap-doton-GrandRidge2004FLMap-doton-GrandRidge
On the map

Grand Ridge on the map, 1952 to 1994

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

Grand Ridge on the 1952 USGS mapGrand Ridge on the 1982 USGS mapGrand Ridge on the 1994 USGS map1952Cypress sheet · 1:24,000

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

People over time

Grand Ridge, census by census

02004006008001960198020002020Peak: 892

Between 415 and 892 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Grand Ridge

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

See all →
Faye DunawayAmerican actress · b. 1941
Norman ThagardUnited States Marine Corps officer, aviator and… · b. 1943
Artis GilmoreAmerican basketball player · b. 1948
Bobby GoldsboroAmerican pop and country singer-songwriter · b. 1941
Travis SmithAmerican drummer · b. 1982
C
Carey LoftinAmerican actor · b. 1914
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Grand Ridge’s post office has been open since 1889.

Gone or out of use
Lawrence Airportairport
1cemetery inside Grand Ridge
Wester

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

Questions about Grand Ridge’s history

What year was Grand Ridge founded?

The Grand Ridge post office opened in 1889, 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 (4), Wikipedia, 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.