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History · Grenville

Grenville’s post office opened in 1888, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1973 on and the census since 1930.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Grenville began

When was Grenville founded?

1888

The Grenville post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Greenville (1888), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 231 in 19302020 census: 22138 years
Founding year: the first Grenville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Grenville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Grenville’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

Grenville, in brief

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

Grenville is a village in Union County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, Grenville had a population of 22.

Its first post office opened in 1888. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 38 to 22 (-42%).

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

Timeline

Grenville, 1888 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Greenville post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Greenville post office closes
  4. 1888Post officeThe Grenville post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Grenville, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Grenville, New Mexico2026Grenville, New MexicoBuilding in2026Building inNMMap-doton-Grenville2004NMMap-doton-Grenville
On the map

Grenville on the map, 1973 to 1982

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

Grenville on the 1973 USGS mapGrenville on the 1982 USGS map1973Grenville 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 Grenville.

People over time

Grenville, census by census

010020019401960198020002020Peak: 231

Between 21 and 231 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Grenville

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

See all →
C
Charles DeatonAmerican architect · b. 1921
Edward L. TixierUnited States Air Force general · b. 1929
V
Victor Henry AndersonPoet, co-founder of Feri Tradition · b. 1917
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Grenville’s post office has been open since 1888. Another post office, Greenville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Greenville
1888–1888
Grenville
1888–today
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Seneca Pitmine

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

Questions about Grenville’s history

What year was Grenville founded?

The Grenville post office opened in 1888, 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), 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.