According to research by Tami Kelly, clerk of Grove City Council, five members of the first village council in 1866 have been identified. They include William Sibray, Anton Pilger Jr., A.M. Anderson, John L. Smith, Leonard Buchholz, Clerk Randolph Higgy; the town marshall was Joseph Pence. Meetings were held at the Highland Mission until 1874 when a township hall was built. The first mayor was the town’s physician, Dr. Joseph Bulen. A section of Dr. Bulen’s staircase is on display at the Grove City Museum and Welcome Center. The village was incorporated March 13, 1866.

There’s a quaint, beautiful cemetery just west of Grove City in an area once known as Little Pennsylvania, Darbydale today. It’s maintained by Pleasant Township and situated near the top of a hill not far from Big Darby Creek. It’s a long hike to the top. Hiram Lukens was 72 when he was interred there in 1869. It’s believed that Lukens was the first person buried on the grounds.

When Concord United Methodist Church, at State Route 665 and Hoover Road, closed the members contents went to Trinity United Methodist Church. The church bell was donated to the Southwest Franklin County Historical Society to be installed at Century Village. An unsuccessful effort was made to find out more about the bell. In 2017, Dick Shover searched family records for information about the bell without success. He did discover that O. L. Shover (Ormond Shover, his uncle) was about five years old when the bell was installed. Ormond was born in 1902. “I believe the current structure was rebuilt approximately 1900, so perhaps the bell was installed at that time,” he said. “The people who gave of money and time to move and rebuild the base for the bell included Dean Lykins, Dave and Kathy Estep, Doug Stormont, and Alivn Borror,” according to Joan Eyerman.

An article in the Sept. 19, 1958 edition of the Ohio State Journal newspaper states the former Concord Methodist Church on SR 665 and Hoover has held religious services since 1849. A log structure first occupied the site. Today, the old church building stands as a veterinarian clinic. It was 109 years before the first wedding was held inside the church; Miss Phyllis Minton married William Cookham. She wore a formal gown of white satin and lace; 56 invited guests attended.

Four men wanted the honor of being the first elected mayor after Grove City received city status June 5, 1959. The city became Ohio’s 150th city. The charter went into effect July 1, 1959 while Ernest Hysell was mayor so, in fact, he was the first mayor to serve the city. The four who wanted to be the first elected included, Hysell, the incumbent; George Haughn, president of council; Paul E. White, five-term former mayor; and Anton C. Patzer, president of First National Bank and president of the Lockbourne Farmers Exchange. Just weeks after the announcement, Hysell withdrew citing health issues. It was a close election. Patzer, pictured, a newcomer to the local political scene, was elected by one vote. The unofficial tally was Patzer 819; Haughn 818; White 577.