Early settlers included Campbell, Mullis, Morgan, Howard, and Tutterow families.

The area that became Union Grove Township in 1868 included the census districts north and south of Hunting Creek in Iredell County.

After the Civil War, the 1870 Census shows that there were only 70 "colored" men and women out of a total population of 1,034 in Union Grove Township.

There was only one foreign born resident in 1870, a farmer's wife from England named Sophia Low.

The area that is now Union Grove Township was a favorite spot with the Native Americans before early settlers.

Many Native American artifacts have been found in the area, especially a site near Jennings mill known as Indian Hill.

Prior to the Civil War, Mr Fraley moved his store to Union Grove.

[3] The longest operating commercial activity in the area is the Jenning store, which is located one and one-half miles south of Union Grove.

[2][6][7] The Union Grove Old Time Fiddlers' Convention founded in 1924 by H. P. VanHoy and friends, as a fund raiser for the school.

Held annually on the school grounds every Easter weekend, the Fiddlers' Convention was a popular community event that brought many area old-time fiddlers into the small unincorporated town of Union Grove to compete.

With the folk music revival in the 1950s and 1960s, however, this small-town community event became increasingly popular with young people who would travel great distances to attend.

The unconventional lifestyles of some of these young people disturbed many residents of the conservative farming community.

"[19][2][20][21][22] Fiddler's Grove, an old-time-music and family-oriented campground, was developed on land purchased near the school by Harper Van Hoy and his wife, Wanona, in 1970.

Central entertainment events at Fiddler's Grove have been the Old Time Fiddler's & Bluegrass Festival, a spring fiddling competition held annually since 1970, and the Square-Up, a fall clogging dance competition held until 1982.

He held his event on his farm and retained the original name of "World's Championship Old-Time Fiddlers' Convention," with the blessings and support of their father.

Financially committed to Fiddler's Grove, Harper Van Hoy felt it was important to focus on the music and the community by creating a family atmosphere and enforcing a ban on alcohol and illegal drugs.

He called his event the Old Time Fiddler's & Bluegrass Festival and received early support from Doc Watson, Lee and Jean Shilling, Alan Jabbour, and Allein Stanley, JP Fraley, and Fred Coon, among others.

While the World's Championship Old-Time Fiddlers Convention attracted large crowds and was immediately financially successful, Harper Van Hoy's Ole Time Fiddler's & Bluegrass Festival deliberately stayed small, despite early financial losses, by implementing an invitation-only attendance policy in 1973.

The Square-Up, an annual dance competition, held over Labor Day weekend was an institution at Fiddler's Grove until 1982.

This dance competition featured traditional mountain, precision, and smooth clogging teams as well as individual buck and flatfoot dancers.

The convention was a success - thus returning to its pre - "Woodstock generation" days, with a much smaller family oriented setting.