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History · South Grove Township

South Grove Township’s post office opened in 1841, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Ashelford Hall. Below: maps from 1918 on and the census since 1930.

1841first post office
1on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How South Grove Township began

When was South Grove Township founded?

1841

The South Grove Township post office opened in 1841, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1850. Two smaller post offices, South Grove (1841) and Dustin (1868), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 675 in 19302020 census: 447185 years
Founding year: the first South Grove Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1850.

What stands out about South Grove Township’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 South Grove Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s South Grove Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of South Grove Township’s homes were built before 1953.Deep rootsA post office since 1841: 185 years of South Grove Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start South Grove Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

South Grove
1841–1903
Dustin
1868–1887
Esmond
1887–today
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Esmond
Gone or out of use
Dustin Post Officepost officeDustin SchoolschoolGibson SchoolschoolRenwick SchoolschoolRundown SchoolschoolSouth Grove Post Officepost officeSouth Grove Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside South Grove Township
GreenviewSouth Grove

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

The story so far

South Grove Township, in brief

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

South Grove Township is one of nineteen townships in DeKalb County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 447 and it contained 201 housing units. South Grove Township was renamed from Vernon Township on November 20, 1850.

Its first post office opened in 1841. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 512 to 447 (-13%).

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

Timeline

South Grove Township, 1841 to 1918

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1841Post officeThe South Grove post office opens
  3. 1868Post officeThe Dustin post office opens
  4. 1887Post officeThe Dustin post office closes
  5. 1887Post officeThe Esmond post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1903Post officeThe South Grove post office closes
  8. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

South Grove Township on the map, 1918 to 1968

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

South Grove Township on the 1918 USGS mapSouth Grove Township on the 1968 USGS map1918Kirkland sheet · 1:62,500

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in South Grove Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Ashelford Hall
Ashelford Hall
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Commercial Style1
Ashelford HallCommercial Style

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

South Grove Township, census by census

010020030040050060070019401960198020002020Peak: 675

Between 447 and 675 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to South Grove Township

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

See all →
J
Joan AllenAmerican actress · b. 1956
Lloyd IngrahamActor, film director · b. 1874
Albert J. HopkinsAmerican politician · b. 1846
C
Charles Williams NashAmerican businessman · b. 1864
Knute HillAmerican politician · b. 1876
P
Paul R. LawrenceAmerican business theorist · b. 1922
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Lynnville TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMayfield TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMalta TownshipIts storyB−

Questions about South Grove Township’s history

What year was South Grove Township founded?

The South Grove Township post office opened in 1841, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1850.

What is on the National Register in South Grove Township?

One place: the Ashelford Hall (listed 1995).

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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.