Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives West Grove’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Grove is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #513 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West Grove’s overall grade.
Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so West Grove’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1787.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.4 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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 West Grove’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The village of West Grove derived its name from the Friends Meeting House on Harmony Road built in 1787 several miles west of the Friends Meeting House in the village of London Grove. West Grove was separated from London Grove Township and became an incorporated borough on November 29, 1893. However, the decree of incorporation was not recorded until January 9, 1894, to prevent confusing the tax accounts of London Grove Township and to eliminate the need for a special borough election.
Passages that mention West Grove, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches1881 · page 228Read the page →
Read the text
The name of this office was clianged to "West Grove Station," March 12, 1804, and back to " West Grove," Jan. 26, 1877. 49. Phojnixville July 22,1828 Lewis W. Eicliards.
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
West Grove, decade by decade
3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
In 1787, according to Wikidata. West Grove’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1880 counted 269 people here.
How does West Grove rank for history?
West Grove is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #513 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. 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 West Grove?
26% of West Grove’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
1933
1933
1933