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CHistory
History · Lake Grove

Lake Grove’s post office opened in 1870, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns · #729 of 758 in New York. What drives it

Most of Lake Grove was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1970.

1870first post office
1on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lake Grove began

When was Lake Grove founded?

1870

The Lake Grove post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 8,133 in 19702020 census: 11,072156 years

How historic is Lake Grove?

C

More historic than 27% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Lake Grove post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lake Grove’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lake Grove is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #729 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Grove’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19405.3% of homes (±3.7) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 0.9 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 27%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 4%

New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lake Grove’s 0.9 sits below most of its state (22% of New York towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 points). 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 Lake 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 writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19025 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1967. Watch Lake Grove change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lake Grove’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lake Grove’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Lake Grove on the map, 1902 to 1967

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

Lake Grove on the 1902 USGS mapLake Grove on the 1919 USGS mapLake Grove on the 1947 USGS mapLake Grove on the 1956 USGS mapLake Grove on the 1967 USGS map1902Setauket 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 Lake Grove.

The story

How Lake Grove came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lake Grove.

Read it all →

The area of Lake Grove was settled in the early 18th century along Middle Country Road, which was then part of the Old Kings Highway, originally a Native American footpath. The community's first church building, built in 1818, was the First Congregational Church of New Village. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002, the building has been preserved and is depicted on the village seal. In 1870, Lake Grove established its first post office, which carried the mail to and from Lakeland station (discontinued in 1883) by horse and wagon. The area was variously called Lakeland, Lakeville, New Village, Ronkonkoma or West Middle Island until it settled on the name Lake Grove in mid-19th century, after the groves of trees near Lake Ronkonkoma.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lake Grove, 1872 to 2002

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Born hereArthur Holmes Howell is born here
  3. 1873In the archivePart of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.I
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902In the archiveSuffolk County, V. 2, Double Page Plate No. 5 (Map bounded by Coram, Coram Hill, West Yap…
  6. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1915In the archiveIndex Map No. 2 of a part of Suffolk County. North Side - Sound Shore, Long Island. Brook…
  8. 1972Born hereAlycia Lane is born here
  9. 21st century
  10. 2002Born hereJoe Scally is born here
By decade

Lake Grove, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1910s3 items
Part of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.I1873Part of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.IMapSuffolk County, V. 2, Double Page Plate No. 5 (Map bounded by Coram, Coram Hill, West Yaphank, Plain Field, Medford, Ho…1902Suffolk County, V. 2, Double Page Plate No. 5 (Map bo…MapIndex Map No. 2 of a part of Suffolk County. North Side - Sound Shore, Long Island. Brookhaven. Published by E. Belcher…1915Index Map No. 2 of a part of Suffolk County. North Si…Map
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today7 recent
NY 347 at Smith Grove Shopping Center & Smith Haven Mall, Lake Grove NY April 24, 20242024NY 347 at Smith Grove Shopping Center & Smith Haven M…Windwood Oaks2021Windwood OaksLake Grove (NY) Post Office; ZIP Code, 117552021Lake Grove (NY) Post Office; ZIP Code, 11755Lake Grove, NY Village Hall-32017Lake Grove, NY Village Hall-3Lake Grove, NY Village Hall-22017Lake Grove, NY Village Hall-2Lake Grove, NY Village Hall-12017Lake Grove, NY Village Hall-1Good Steer;2014Good Steer;
On the National Register

1 historic place in Lake Grove

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Lake Grove, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,000198020002020Peak: 11,163

Between 8,133 and 11,163 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Lake Grove

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
Joe ScallyAmerican soccer player · b. 2002
A
Arthur Holmes HowellZoologist · b. 1872
A
Alycia LaneTelevision journalist · b. 1972
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lake RonkonkomaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCentereachIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSmithtown27 historic placesB−Brookhaven52 historic placesA−NesconsetIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSt. James1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townStony Brook7 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lake Grove’s history

What year was Lake Grove founded?

The Lake Grove post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Lake Grove rank for history?

Lake Grove is more historic than 27% of U.S. towns, #729 of 758 in New York. 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 Lake Grove?

5% of Lake Grove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1970.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.