Did you know that Eldred Township was formed from Southwest Township on September 8, 1843, and was named in honor of Nathaniel B. Eldred?  Eldred was the President Judge of Warren County during the time that it was part of Pennsylvania’s 18th judicial district.  The credit of procuring the formation and organization of the township belongs to Samuel W. B. Sanford, who drew up, circulated, and pushed through the petition upon which the order of the court was based.  Sanford, one of the most prominent of Eldred’s citizens, came from New York State in 1838.  He took the most active interest in the affairs of the township at that time.  No township in Warren County was gifted so abundantly with perennial springs of water which made it a township rich with farming, when lumbering had completely made way for it.  From the time of the arrival of the first four or five settlers to the time of the formation of the township, immigration poured into the area.

Early industries were lumber mills and oil production.  Many businesses and stores were set up to meet the needs of these settlers.  The first mill in the township was built by David White.  The first store was kept by Stephen Mead on the White farm and opened during the oil excitement, about 1862.  As late as 1872 Grand Valley was known by its original name of Pleasant Valley.  Around 1877 the name was changed to Grand Valley.

After the construction of the Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley, and Pittsburgh Railroad, the site of Grand Valley became a thriving and promising village.  This increased the population in the surrounding areas of Eldred Township.  With the population growth came five stores, a hotel and a church.  The first school was built in Sanford and then increased to eight schools total by 1887 with the school house in Grand Valley having nearly 200 students.  This school is standing today serving as the Grand Valley Volunteer Fire Department.