Around 1891, Charles C. and Emma Lupfer, from Gibson's Rock near Dromgold's Corner, bought four tracts of farmland along the east side of Sherman's Creek and, by as early as 1912, allowed local groups to picnic in a grove of trees near the creek. On September 30, 1921, The News of Newport reported that a patriotic picnic held on September 10, 1921, by the Order of United American Mechanics, the Patriotic Order of Sons of America, and the Grange was so successful that it was decided to make it an annual event, and this Community Picnic continued for more than eight decades until about 2005. When Route 34 was paved in 1926, highway workers built a kitchen, camped on the grounds, and kept their horses in the Lupfer barn. Sons John and Harry Lupfer continued the family tradition, and in the 1950s the Lupfers cut timber from their land on Dix Hill while the community replaced the old kitchen and built pavilions and a stage. The grove became a community park in Carroll Township, offering picnic and event facilities and fields for soccer, softball, football, and especially baseball, and it was used by churches, families, the Boy Scouts, 4-H, the Good News Singers, and others. In 1980, Dennis Lupfer and his friends created the Perry County Automotive Association and introduced car shows that quickly became among the largest one-day auto events in Central Pennsylvania. In 2005, the Perry County Old Iron Collectors, Inc., moved their annual show to the grove and renamed it Old Iron in the Grove. Established in 1992, that non-profit organization sought to stimulate community pride in Perry County's cultural and agricultural heritage. In 2018, the grove remained a vital part of Perry County life under the stewardship of Charles E. Lupfer, grandson of the founder, and Allen and Tim Lupfer, great-grandsons.