In 1792, the first planned European American settlement in Livingston County was located in Groveland and was called "Willamsburgh" after Sir William Pulteney, a land speculator.

The Groveland Shaker Village settlement was established in 1836 on a 1,700-acre (690 ha) farm at the hamlet of Sonyea.

The Shakers sold the Sonyea property in 1892 due to declining membership, and moved to Watervliet.

[4] Their former buildings and land became the Craig Colony for Epileptics[5] in 1896 and are now part of the Groveland Correctional Facility.

[6] The Boyd & Parker Park and Groveland Ambuscade were also listed on the National Register in 2009.

Canaseraga Creek, a north-flowing tributary of the Genesee River, crosses the southwest part of the town through a broad valley.

New York State Route 408 is a highway terminating in the western part of the town at NY-63.

In 1963, the Main Line over Dansville Hill from Groveland to Wayland was abandoned by order of the Interstate Commerce Commission upon application by the Erie Lackawanna Railroad, which had secured much lesser grades on the former Erie Railroad via Hornell.