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History · Ocean Grove

Ocean Grove’s post office opened in 1912, and 62% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register.

1912first post office
2on the National Register
62%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Ocean Grove began

When was Ocean Grove founded?

1912

The Ocean Grove post office opened in 1912, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 2,904114 years
Founding year: the first Ocean Grove post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Ocean 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 Ocean Grove are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Ocean Grove’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ocean Grove’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ocean Grove’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
The story so far

Ocean Grove, in brief

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

Ocean Grove is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Swansea in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, on the north shore of Mount Hope Bay near the Cole River. The population was 2,811 at the 2010 census, and 2,904 as of the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1912. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,811 to 2,904 (+3%).

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

By decade

Ocean Grove, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Town Beach2012Town BeachHappy Clam2012Happy ClamCole River2008Cole River
On the National Register

2 historic places in Ocean Grove

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Ocean Grove

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

See all →
H. P. LovecraftAmerican writer and editor · b. 1890
Cormac McCarthyAmerican novelist, playwright, and screenwriter · b. 1933
William Standish KnowlesAmerican chemist · b. 1917
Damien ChazelleFrench-American filmmaker · b. 1985
O
Olivia CulpoAmerican model · b. 1992
Aaron BeckAmerican psychiatrist, researcher, therapist · b. 1921

Questions about Ocean Grove’s history

What year was Ocean Grove founded?

The Ocean Grove post office opened in 1912, 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 (3). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.