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History · Grove

Grove dates to 1827, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1916 on and the census since 1830.

1827founded
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Grove began

When was Grove founded?

1827

Grove dates its founding to 1827 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1830.

First census: 1,388 in 18302020 census: 489199 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓

What stands out about 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 Grove are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19163 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1964. Watch Grove change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1827: 199 years of Grove.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Grove’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how 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
On the map

Grove on the map, 1916 to 1964

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

Grove on the 1916 USGS mapGrove on the 1940 USGS mapGrove on the 1964 USGS map1916Canaseraga 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 Grove.

Timeline

Grove, 1827 to 1916

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1827
    FoundingGrove is established
  3. 1828Post officeThe Grove post office opens
  4. 1853Post officeThe Swainsville post office opens
  5. 1862Post officeThe Swainsville post office closes
  6. 1862Post officeThe Swain post office opens
  7. 1888Post officeThe Grove post office closes
  8. 20th century
  9. 1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Grove came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Grove.

Read it all →

The town of Grove was formed from Wyoming County on March 8, 1827 as "Church Tract" from the town of Nunda in Livingston County. When first settled it was called Brewer’s Corners in 1823, Then later called Swainsville in honor of an early settler named Samuel Swain. The town assumed its current name on April 16, 1838, possibly based on the large number of trees in the town. Grove lost its western territory to form the newer town of Granger in 1838.

Frederick Decker, the "Ossian Giant", was a resident known for his great size (7 feet, six inches, 385 pounds). He was born in Geneseo in 1836 and exhibited himself across the country before settling down in Grove where he died and was buried in 1886.

ChaptersPast residents of note

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Grove, 1919–1921

Passages that mention Grove, cut from the printed page as they were published.

for colored children. It was given the name Lincoln school, in honor of the man who did so much to emancipate the colorea race. The little school house was built of sturdy native timber and many buildings in Council Grove have come and gone since it was built in 1858. There was one other school hou…
The story of Council Grove on the Santa Fe Trail,1921 · page 122Read the page →
Read the text

for colored children. It was given the name Lincoln school, in honor of the man who did so much to emancipate the colorea race. The little school house was built of sturdy native timber and many buildings in Council Grove have come and gone since it was built in 1858. There was one other school house at that time on the east side, which stood near the present site of the Missouri Pacific depot. The first organization of the M. E church, South, in 1855, was in the East Side school house, which

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The location of the passenger depot where it now stands was thought only to be a temporary arrangement, the expectation being that the Ocean Grove depot would ultimately be established opposite Ocean Grove upon the land purchased in 1875. From September i, 1875, to September i, 1876, which represen…
Story of Ocean Grove ...1869-19191919 · page 178Read the page →
Read the text

The location of the passenger depot where it now stands was thought only to be a temporary arrangement, the expectation being that the Ocean Grove depot would ultimately be established opposite Ocean Grove upon the land purchased in 1875. From September i, 1875, to September i, 1876, which represented the first year of its existence, the receipts at the station were over $47,000.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
"See notice of graded school meeting next Friday. Let all attend. If you don't want schools, or anything that induces immigrants to come into the country, vote down the school house. If you are determined that you will injure Council Grove all you can, vote down the school house. If you are anxious…
The story of Council Grove on the Santa Fe Trail,1921 · page 31Read the page →
Read the text

"See notice of graded school meeting next Friday. Let all attend. If you don't want schools, or anything that induces immigrants to come into the country, vote down the school house. If you are determined that you will injure Council Grove all you can, vote down the school house. If you are anxious to make your presence feit for evil, vote down the school house.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
An effort was then made to consolidate tlie Ocean Grove and the Asbury Park. Post Offices, the consolidated office to be located in Asbury Park. This effort was supported by the partisan press; but the effort was successfully "resisted by every true friend of Ocean Grove." It is recorded that, "not…
Story of Ocean Grove ...1869-19191919 · page 176Read the page →
Read the text

An effort was then made to consolidate tlie Ocean Grove and the Asbury Park. Post Offices, the consolidated office to be located in Asbury Park. This effort was supported by the partisan press; but the effort was successfully "resisted by every true friend of Ocean Grove." It is recorded that, "not long after this a further attempt was made in the same quarter, on the sanctity of our Christian Sabbath, by having the United States mails delivered at our depot on this holy day. For a quarter of a century we had been exempt from such annoyance, and, unresisted, could not submit to it

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

Grove, decade by decade

Today12 recent
FLT M08 5.82 mi - Outhouse at Bleier Campsite2010FLT M08 5.82 mi - Outhouse at Bleier CampsiteFLT M08 5.81 mi - Bivouac at Bleier Campsite2010FLT M08 5.81 mi - Bivouac at Bleier CampsiteFLT M08 5.80 mi - Sign at Bleier Campsite2010FLT M08 5.80 mi - Sign at Bleier CampsiteFLT M08 5.6 mi - Two 12' puncheons, 3 4x4s on 6x6 sills2010FLT M08 5.6 mi - Two 12' puncheons, 3 4x4s on 6x6 sil…FLT M08 5.2 mi - 12' puncheon, 3 4x4s on 6x6 sills2010FLT M08 5.2 mi - 12' puncheon, 3 4x4s on 6x6 sillsFLT M08 5.1 mi - 12' puncheon, 3 4x4's on 6x6 sills2010FLT M08 5.1 mi - 12' puncheon, 3 4x4's on 6x6 sillsFLT M08 5.1 mi - 12' Puncheon, 3 4x4s on 6x6 sills2010FLT M08 5.1 mi - 12' Puncheon, 3 4x4s on 6x6 sillsFLT M08 4.92 mi - 5 12' puncheons in ravine, 3 4x4's on 6x6 sills, on rock gabions, ~ 30 rock steps2010FLT M08 4.92 mi - 5 12' puncheons in ravine, 3 4x4's …FLT M08 4.9 mi - Puncheon, 12' long, 3 4x4s on 6x6 sills2010FLT M08 4.9 mi - Puncheon, 12' long, 3 4x4s on 6x6 si…FLT M08 4.7 mi - Puncheon, 8' long, 3 4x4s on 6x6 sills, on rock gabions, also ~40 steps both sides2010FLT M08 4.7 mi - Puncheon, 8' long, 3 4x4s on 6x6 sil…FLT M08 4.3 mi - 4 12' puncheons, 3 4x4s on 6x6 sills2010FLT M08 4.3 mi - 4 12' puncheons, 3 4x4s on 6x6 sillsFLT M08 3.8 mi - Rock steps, ~40, near blue bailout trail2010FLT M08 3.8 mi - Rock steps, ~40, near blue bailout t…
People over time

Grove, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001850190019502000Peak: 1,388

Between 415 and 1,388 people in every census since 1830.

20 censuses, 1830–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Grove

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

See all →
Pete ParadaAmerican drummer · b. 1974
Henry M. TellerAmerican politician · b. 1830
Francis BellamyAmerican Christian socialist Baptist minister · b. 1855
Donald Van SlykeAmerican chemist · b. 1883
James M. MeadAmerican politician · b. 1885
Ross BarnesAmerican Major League Baseball player · b. 1850
Places that used to be

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

Grove had its own post office from 1828 to 1888. Another post office, Swainsville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Grove
1828–1888
Swainsville
1853–1862
Swain
1862–today
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Swain
Gone or out of use
New Michigan SchoolschoolSchool Number 12schoolSchool Number 17schoolSchool Number 5schoolThorntree Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Grove
Brewer CornersGerman SettlementSwain

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Nunda3 historic placesA+BirdsallIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGrangerIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBurns1 historic placeAOssian1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Grove’s history

What year was Grove founded?

In 1827, according to Wikidata. Grove’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1830 counted 1,388 people here.

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 (12), 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.