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–Not graded
History · Grindstone

Grindstone’s post office opened in 1891, and 68% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: old-book passages.

1891first post office
0on the National Register
68%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Grindstone began

When was Grindstone founded?

1891

The Grindstone post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 489135 years
Founding year: the first Grindstone post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Grindstone’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 Grindstone are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Grindstone’s homes were built before 1938.
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Start Grindstone’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Grindstone, in brief

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

Grindstone is an unincorporated community and census-designated place that is located in Jefferson and Redstone townships, in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community was part of the Grindstone-Rowes Run CDP before it was split into two separate CDPs for the 2010 census. In 2010, the population was 498. The ZIP code for this community is 15442.

Its first post office opened in 1891. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 498 in 2010, 489 in 2020.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Grindstone in 1900

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

Grindstone station is a mile above Brazenell, and derives its name from the Grindstone schoolhouse. The postofifice was established April 7, 1891, Henry Keil, being the first incumbent of the office. He was succeeded, February 3, 1899, by O. H. Stewart, manager of the Ridgeway Supply Company store.
Nelson's biographical dictionary and historical reference book of Fayette County, Pennsylvania1900 · page 405Read the page →
Read the text

Grindstone station is a mile above Brazenell, and derives its name from the Grindstone schoolhouse. The postofifice was established April 7, 1891, Henry Keil, being the first incumbent of the office. He was succeeded, February 3, 1899, by O. H. Stewart, manager of the Ridgeway Supply Company store.

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

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Jefferson TownshipIts storyB−Redstone Township5 historic placesA+Rowes RunIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Grindstone’s history

What year was Grindstone founded?

The Grindstone post office opened in 1891, 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 →
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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 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.