Oak Grove’s post office opened in 1828, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 45% of U.S. towns · #91 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Most of Oak Grove was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Its Register listing is the Cedar Grove. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1980.
The Oak Grove post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Hinsleytown (1887), Kennedy (1889) and Edgoten (1906), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 2,088 in 19802020 census: 7,931198 years
How historic is Oak Grove?
B−
More historic than 45% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Oak Grove post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Oak Grove’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oak Grove is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #91 of 142 in Kentucky. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oak Grove’s overall grade.
Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Oak Grove’s 3.8 sits below most of its state (31% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Oak Grove’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first post office in Oak Grove was established in 1828. The community was named for oak trees near the original town site. The Clarksville Railroad was extended to Oak Grove in the 19th century.
With construction of nearby Fort Campbell in the Second World War, Oak Grove's population grew. The city was incorporated by the state legislature on September 24, 1974.
Passages that mention Oak Grove, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A History of Christian County Kentucky from Oxcart to Airplane1930 · page 621Read the page →
Read the text
Mr. Sallee bought the business, as a whole, and continued at that place until the T. C. Railroad was built and running trains. In the meantime Mr. Sallee had also bought what is known as the Wagoner farm, and a part of the Buckner Oak Grove farm, and had built a store on the railroad, and a dwelling nearby. In 1905, the Oak Grove business, including the post office, was moved to the new store, built at Thompsonville. The Thompsonville business continues under the management of I. G. Cochran, half-brother of Mr. Sallee, who has been a resident of the county since
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
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The Oak Grove post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Oak Grove rank for history?
Oak Grove is more historic than 45% of U.S. towns, #91 of 142 in Kentucky. 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 Oak Grove?
One place: the Cedar Grove (listed 1977).
How old are the homes in Oak Grove?
2% of Oak Grove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.9 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1998.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
