In 1798 Valentine Cunningham, Grove City's founder, cleared a field by a winding creek and built a log cabin on what is now Liberty Street.

His wife, Margaret, and their sons, Charles and James G., joined him. Valentine named the stream Wolf Creek as it was a watering place for wolves.

Cunningham built a grist mill in 1799 on the west bank of Wolf Creek, the present site of the Grove City College athletic field. His wife died in 1800 at the age of 25. Cunningham died in 1806 when he was 30. Both husband and wife are buried in the Old Presbyterian Cemetery on Greenwood Drive.

In 1804 Mercer County authorized a road (now Route 58) between Mercer and Cunningham's grist mill. This particular road was laid out at 33 feet wide. In 1806 the first bridge was built over Wolf Creek near the lower dam. This is the present side of East Main Street Bridge.

In 1830 the area's first public school was built at South Center and West Main Streets. A brick building replaced it in 1875. In 1901 a new building, Central School, was completed there. In 1906 Lincoln School was erected on Gilmore Avenue; and a high school on East Main Street in 1913.

The Cunningham's sons returned to Wolf Creek in 1834 to lay out the town of Pine Grove, but some sources say in was 1844. On his way to Harrisburg to secure title to the town, James G. "Squire'' Cunningham saw his first train, which frightened his horse.

In 1835 W.A. Young purchased a tannery, along what is now the Liberty Street area, from James Tidball, the husband of Elizabeth, Valentine Cunningham's only daughter. In 1855 George Washabaugh opened Union Hotel, the first in Pine Grove, on East Main Street, also known as Brooklyn Hill.

James Hunter came to Pine Grove in 1858 and homesteaded 65 acres, the origin of Hunter Farm, at the end of Greenwood Drive. His son, James Wilkin Hunter, later increased the size to about 300 acres. Hunter Farm retailed milk for about 20 years beginning in 1904 for five cents a quart.

In the late 1800s, J.C. Shaw thought that gas could be found by boring for it on his land. He secured a franchise from the town to supply the area with gas. Instead of striking gas, he struck salt water. Undaunted, he erected a salt works, which produced a very fine grade of salt.

In 1861 Norman J. Maxwell joined the U.S. Army during the Civil War as a private in Company E of the 100th Pennsylvania Volunteer infantry, known as the Roundheads. Promoted through the ranks to colonel, Maxwell was awarded the rank of brevet brigadier general of the U.S. Volunteers in 1865 for gallant and meritorious service.

After the Civil War, General Maxwell returned to Pine Grove and opened a mercantile business. Over the next 30 years, he was active in the community, serving two terms as Grove City burgess. He died in 1929 at the age of 94 and is buried in Woodland Cemetery, North Broad Street Extension.

The Montgomery Broom Factory opened in a house on Jackson Street in 1870 and later moved to Blair Street. In the 1920s the broom warehouse was destroyed by fire. When rebuilt, the inside wall was constructed with yellow bricks, which were removed from Broad Street when it was paved.

In the 1870s Pine Grove had a bucket brigade for fires, no police, and gas lights had not yet come to the area. The East Main Street bridge sign read "Take Notice, Anyone Riding on Bridge Will Be Liable For a Fine Of $5 to $20.''

The railroad came to Pine Grove in 1872, encouraged primarily by the many deposits of coal in the area. A great train wreck took place on Sept. 16, 1910. Passenger service was popular for many years but was discontinued in the 1950s. The railroad station was torn down in 1954,

In 1874, Dr. J.M. Martin came to Pine Grove to practice medicine. In 1885, appointed lieutenant and later captain, he served the medical staff of Co. F, 15th Regiment in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American Ware. His practice spanned three generations, and he was the doctor for the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad.

Pine Grove's population was no more than 200 in 1875. A.B. McKay moved his carriage shop from the country to Pine Grove in 1876. Once moved, his business revenue rose from $5,000 a year to $30,000 in 1887. The McKay Buggy slogan was, "If it's McK, it's OK.''

A King Iron Bridge was built in 1876 to replace the wooden bridge over Wolf Creek at the lower dam. Josiah Cornelius began brick-making in Pine Grove the same year. The clay was taken from his farm which was on the now-Liberty Street extentions. This operation continued until 1912.

In April 1876, at the age of 23, Isaac C. Ketler opened his "Select School'' -- the forerunner of Grove City College. The first classes were held with 13 students. The fall session opened with 74 students with the school renamed as Pine Grove Normal Academy.

A public meeting was held in 1878 to consider the purchase of land for the school. The first Academy building was completed in December 1879 on a portion of the James G. Cunningham farm, near what is now the intersection of East Main and South Broad streets.

In 1882 a petition of 91 Pine Grove citizens was presented to Mercer County Court. Thus, the community became incorporated as the Borough of Grove City on Jan. 4, 1883. A seal with a pine tree in the center was approved. Pine Grove Normal Academy became Grove City College in 1884.

Margaret "Margit'' Simpson and her husband, John Guinnip, owned a sheep ranch in California. After his death, she returned to this area in 1883 and learned that Grove City needed operating funds. She loaned the borough council $2,100, which council paid back in 1886.

The "Great Fire'' of May 9, 1890, started at 2 a.m. People formed bucket brigades to fight flames which were visible 25 miles away. Neighboring towns also assisted. The Greenville Fire Co. came by special train at 3 a.m. Flames raged north on the west side of Broad Street to the railroad tracks.

Flames were stopped from spreading south to other buildings by the fireproof brick of the Grove City Bank Co. building. Fire destroyed at least 16 businesses with damages of $40,000. Some businesses on the east side of the street were scorched and damaged.

In 1898, Dr. Edwin J. Fithian left the medical profession to manufacture friction clutches for oil-pumping engines. He teamed up with John Carruthers for mechanical expertise to form Carruthers-Fithian Clutch Co., incorporated in 1899 as Bessemer Gas Engine Co.

By the late 1920s the Bessemer Gas Engine Co. produced diesel engines. In 1929 in merged with C&G Cooper of Mount Vernon, Ohio, to form Cooper-Bessemer Corp., the largest builder of gas engines and compressors in America. It later evolved into Cooper Cameron Corp. (The Grove City plant was closed in 2000).

The volunteer fire department held an organizational meeting on Sept. 21, 1904. The borough supplied the initial equipment: hose cart, hook and ladder cart, a hose, axes and crowbars. During the first year, a baseball game and a pie social were held to raise money for the department.

During the early years of the volunteer fire department, a big event was the hose cart races held on Broad Street on the Fourth of July. In 1916 the department received its first motorized fire equipment, built by Bessemer Truck Co., located on East Pine Street, at a cost of $2,000.

In 1907, with organizational efforts of Dr. J.M. Martin, Grove City Hospital opened, with seven beds, on the corner of Stewart Avenue Main Street. By 1916 the need for an expanded facility was evident and in 1921 a new hospital opened on Hillcrest Avenue.

Dr. O. O. Bashline started the first osteopathic practice in several private homes in 1907. In 1915 his nephew, Dr. Walter F. Rossman, joined the practice. The Bashline-Rossman Hospital opened in 1923, with 23 beds, on the corner of South Center and East Pine Streets.

In 1910, an ordinance was passed granting a streetcar company to connect Grove City to Slippery Rock's line. A streetcar was displayed to encourage investment. After sections of track were placed, the venture failed. During World War I, the track was scrapped for the war effort.

Police protection began in 1910 with one officer. Charles "Charlie'' Ray, the first police chief, served from 1918 to 1935. Except for special occasions, he worked the streets himself. When needed, the chief whistled down a car and jumped on the running board to get to a crime scene.