On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oak Grove is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oak Grove’s overall grade.
Mississippi towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Mississippi town has 71.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Oak Grove’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (19% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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.
Oak Grove experienced a growth in its population beginning in the 1970s as families from nearby Hattiesburg moved to the community. Schools, churches, businesses and newspapers were established, as were "the seeds of a long-running dispute about incorporation versus annexation by Hattiesburg".
In 1987, the city of Hattiesburg filed a petition seeking to expand its corporate boundaries into Oak Grove. In response, the "Oak Grove Concerned Citizens Association" filed a petition in favor of incorporating the City of Oak Grove. Both petitions were denied. In 1991, the petitions were appealed to the Supreme Court of Mississippi. Testimony at the appeal included the following:
Oak Grove is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns. 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 Oak Grove?
0.0% of Oak Grove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 2001.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.
