In 1886, Sam Courville moved his family from a Sabine Lake settlement in Port Arthur to a new home on 640 acres (2.6 km2) of land.

[5] In that general area around 1911, John Warne Gates purchased additional tracts of land.

Several civic organizations, including the Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce, and Volunteer Fire Department, were formed during the 1940s.

In 2000, Groves was the fourth-largest city in Jefferson County, after Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Nederland.

Groves is in eastern Jefferson County, 16 miles (26 km) southeast of downtown Beaumont.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 17,335 people, 5,747 households, and 3,851 families residing in the city.

The United States Postal Service Groves Post Office is at 6230 39th Street.

[citation needed] The city is primarily served by the Port Neches-Groves Independent School District.

A small area of Groves is served by the Port Arthur Independent School District.

[14] A donut shop in Groves was a key location in the 2021 film Red Rocket.