Granville is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

Licking County, Ohio Licking County is a County (United States), county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 178,519. Its county seat is Newark, Ohio, Newark. The county was form ...

, United States. The population was 5,946 at the 2020 census. The village is located in a rural area of hills, known locally as the Welsh Hills, in central Ohio. It is east of Columbus, the state capital, and west of Newark, the county seat. The village began as a settlement by European-Americans of Welsh descent. It has long served as a hub for education in the area. It also served as a hotbed for Temperance Movement and Abolitionist activity. Granville is home to

Denison University Denison University is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio, United States. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. It was first called ...

. The village has a number of historic buildings, including

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

structures like the Avery Downer House, St. Luke's Episcopal Church (1837) and others. The Buxton Inn (1812), the Granville Inn (1924), Bancroft House (1834) and Bryn Du Mansion are local landmarks.

History

Pre-Columbian cultures

Granville is the location of the

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

Alligator Effigy Mound, built by the indigenous people of the

Fort Ancient The Fort Ancient culture is a Native American archaeological culture that dates back to . Members of the culture lived along the Ohio River valley, in an area running from modern-day Ohio and western West Virginia through to northern Kentucky ...

culture, between 800 and 1200 CE, more than four hundred years before European contact. It may be an

effigy An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...

of the underwater panther featured in Native American

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

. The mound is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The area has evidence of Indigenous cultures. Less than five miles from the Alligator Effigy Mound are the Newark Earthworks, associated with the earlier

Hopewell culture The Hopewell tradition, also called the Hopewell culture and Hopewellian exchange, describes a network of precontact Native American cultures that flourished in settlements along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern Eastern Woodlands from ...

of roughly 100 BCE to 500 CE.

Pioneer settlers

Granville was not settled by European Americans until 1805, but the first house was built in 1801 by John Jones, a Welshman born in New Jersey. He erected a small hut with his wife and paved the first street in Granville, calling it Centerville Street. Mr. Jones's close friend Mr. Patrick Cunningham built the second cabin in the township the next spring. People began to settle at the village regularly over the next four years. The first large group of settlers were from Granville, Massachusetts, and they named the new village after their former home. The area was first surveyed by United States representatives in 1797, as land set aside by the national government for payment in land grants to veterans who had served in the Revolutionary War. Among the earliest settlers were Theophilus Rees and his son John. Born in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, they immigrated to the United States in 1795, and headed west for a new life on the American frontier. They arrived in what is now Granville township in 1802, following a brief time in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Other Welsh settlers followed them, leaving their heritage in numerous place names.

Early schools

Granville's first school was built in January 1806, approximately two months after the first band of settlers arrived. The log structure, which was used as both a school and a church, sat on the south side of the public square. It had windows made of oiled paper and benches and desks made of split logs. This building served as the local school for four to five years until the community build a framed schoolhouse on the east side of the square. By 1820, a three-story brick schoolhouse had been built. Because there were not enough students to fill it, only the main floor was used for educational purposes; the basement served as a market, and a Masonic fraternity used the upper floor. In 1854, the village built the Union School, which served as a district school and accommodated about 200 students. Throughout the 19th century, Granville's residents established a number of academies and seminaries (institutions of secondary education similar to high schools). * Granville Academy / Doane Academy: Built in 1827 by the

Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

, Granville Academy was initially open to both males and females, but by the time it was incorporated by the Ohio Legislature in 1836, it served only women. The preparatory school changed its name to Doane Academy when it moved onto Denison University's campus 1894. The academy closed in 1927 due to low enrollment, and the school building now houses Denison University's administrative offices. * Granville Female Seminary / Episcopal Female Seminary: In 1832, the Baptist Society founded Granville Female Institute, which had a boarding house and educational building on Main Street. In 1840, the school changed ownership and became the Episcopal Female Seminary. * Ladies' Female Institute / Baptist Female Seminary: The Ladies Female Institute was started in 1860 by Rev. N. S. Buxton and his wife, and it operated out of the basement of the Baptist church. Later, it consolidated with another school and became the Baptist Female Seminary. The college now known as

first organized in 1831 under the name Granville Literary and Theological Institute. It was located on a 135-acre farm southwest of Granville, where students performed manual labor. The school had four departments: preparatory, English, collegiate, and theological. Its name changed to Granville College in 1845, and in 1855, soon after its name changed to Denison University, the college moved to its current sight on a hill north of the village.

Temperance

The

Temperance Movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

, a social and religious movement against the consumption of alcohol, had many supporters in Granville. Jacob Little, a Congregationalist pastor in Granville from the late 1820s to 1866, was a leading advocate for temperance. Little sought to achieve temperance in Granville and dedicated most of his life to achieving this goal. He is well known for writing a large number of pamphlets. Little also presented his ideas on alcohol consumption through his annual New Year's Day Sermons. In these sermons, he would highlight the wrongdoings of Granville members that had occurred throughout the previous year, publicly shaming those who consumed large amounts of alcohol. He continued his fight for temperance for 38 years, but temperance was not implemented in Granville until 1874. The Granville Women's Temperance League was formed in 1873 and worked to achieve temperance in Granville. In 1874 the Village Council banned the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol. The Granville Women's Temperance League would organize public demonstrations, petitions, and educational campaigns to raise awareness about the harmful effects of alcohol. Granville's pro-temperance stance played a role in the lynching of Carl Etherington, a 17-year-old Anti-Saloon League agent who was murdered in Newark, Ohio, after taking part in several saloon raids."Carl Etherington."
''Licking County Library''. Retrieved 2024-10-08. On July 8, 1910, Granville's mayor, Dr. E.J. Barns, tasked Etherington and at least 18 other hired agents with executing search and seizure warrants for illicit saloons in Newark, Ohio. In the ensuing confrontations between the agents and Newark citizens, Etherington shot a former police captain and bar owner, and he was subsequently chased, beaten, and killed. The village of Granville remained dry until 1974, 41 years after the

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

ended.

Abolitionism

In the early days of the Abolitionist Movement, Granville was widely divided over the issue of slavery, but abolitionist groups began to grow in size and influence, holding regular meetings and lectures in the village. Oftentimes, these lectures were met with harsh resistance from anti-abolitionist locals, which eventually led to violence. For example, an abolitionist named Mr. Weld attempted to hold a lecture in Granville on April 1, 1835, but he was egged and stoned by townspeople. After multiple instances of these violent outbursts, citizens of Granville began to express apprehension about holding these lectures because of the division and aggression they were causing. With a large lecture scheduled to be held in Granville in April 1836 by an abolitionist group from

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, Ohio, a notice was posted by some Granville residents in the ''Newark Gazette'' asking organizers not to hold the meeting in the village. Despite this, the meeting took place on April 27 of that year, and once again, anti-abolitionist townspeople retaliated. Large mobs gathered to egg and stone the lecturers, and even shaved the tails and manes of the horses belonging to the abolitionist group. After the convention, the two factions clashed in the streets, using bats and daggers as weapons. Though no one was killed, many were severely injured. After this riot, the village's approach towards abolitionism shifted. There was less retaliation out of fear of violence, and abolitionist groups grew in power. This growth led to Granville's participation in the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

system, not as a main station, but as an alternative route in the case that routes through Columbus or the surrounding areas were too dangerous. Among few of the most notable railroad operators were Joseph Linnel and Edwin Cooley Wright, who regularly hosted people fleeing from slavery on their farms.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The central village is situated among three prominent hills. College Hill is to the north. Sugarloaf is a prominent hill and park at the west end of Broadway. Mt. Parnassus is another prominent hill and residential area at the east end of Broadway. A short distance south of the village center is the Raccoon Creek flood plain with the creek running from the west to east.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 5,646 people, 1,441 households, and 1,017 families living in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,554 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 91.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.1%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.1% Native American, 3.6% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.7% of the population. There were 1,441 households, of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.4% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.05. The median age in the village was 22 years. 18.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 38.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 12.1% were from 25 to 44; 21.4% were from 45 to 64; and 9.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 46.3% male and 53.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 3,167 people, 1,309 households, and 888 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 1,384 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.75%

, 0.69%

, 0.28% Native American, 1.01% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.14% of the population. There were 1,309 households, out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were

living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.00. In the village, the population was spread out, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $67,689, and the median income for a family was $102,885 . Males had a median income of $72,250 versus $46,484 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $39,221. About 3.9% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including none of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

Religion

Granville has a long history of being home to the administrative center of the American Baptist Church in Ohio. Formerly known as the Ohio Baptist Convention, the American Baptist Churches of Ohio's office remains located in the village. Denison University was founded as a Baptist college and had a long association with the church. Like other Ohio independent colleges founded in the nineteenth century by religious denominations, the significance of Denison's church affiliation faded and today the university is a non-sectarian institution.

Education

Village schools

Granville's public schools are operated by the Granville Exempted Village School District. The system includes, Granville High School, Granville Middle School, Granville Intermediate School and Granville Elementary School. The high school's graduating class of 2025 included 203 students. The district receives strong performance rankings from the Ohio Department of Education Located in the village is the Granville Christian Academy serving K-12 students. Also, there are several private preschools.

Denison University

On a hill overlooking the village is the campus of

, founded in 1831 as the Granville Theological and Literary Seminary, originally affiliated with the

Northern Baptist Convention The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline Protestant and Baptist Christian denomination. It is a reorganization from 1907 of the Triennial Convention. The Triennial Convention was renamed as the Northern Baptist Convention in ...

. Today, Denison is a private, residential, non-sectarian liberal arts college with a student body of about 2,300 and a faculty of 235. The school is accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

and is certified by the

Ohio Board of Regents The Ohio Board of Regents was created in 1963 by the Ohio General Assembly to: provide higher education policy advice to the Governor of Ohio and the Ohio General Assembly; develop a strategy involving Ohio's public and independent colleges and ...

to grant Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees. 74% of the student body comes from out of state, including representatives from forty countries.

The Homestead at Denison University The Homestead at Denison University is a student-run intentional community in Granville, Ohio. Founded in 1977 by a group of students and the biology professor Dr. Robert W. Alrutz, it is an evolving experiment in learning through living. Membe ...

is a residential student

intentional community An intentional community is a voluntary residential community designed to foster a high degree of group cohesiveness, social cohesion and teamwork. Such communities typically promote shared values or beliefs, or pursue a common vision, wh ...

focusing on environmental

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

. Swasey Chapel is the iconic campus structure. Completed in 1924, the chapel is named in honor of Ambrose Swasey, a benefactor to the college and prominent Cleveland inventor and businessman. The history of Granville has been interwoven with that of the college for nearly two centuries. Denison faculty and staff make up an important segment of the village's population, and student patronage is central to many village businesses. Granville residents may take advantage of many university facilities, such as the athletic center, free of charge. The college has recently embarked on a number of in-town purchases, including the Granville Golf Club and the Granville Inn.

Notable people

Hubert Howe Bancroft Hubert Howe Bancroft (May 5, 1832 – March 2, 1918) was an American historian and ethnologist who wrote, published, and collected works concerning the Western United States, Texas, California, Alaska, Mexico, Central America, and British Colum ...

, an American historian and ethnologist * Ernest DeWitt Burton, an American

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

scholar and president of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

* Paul Carpenter, a

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

player * Edward Andrew Deeds, inventor and industrialist * Edmund Burke Fairfield, American minister, educator and politician in the U.S. state of Michigan. * Lottie Estelle Granger, educator * Marie Harf, political commentator, former Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications to U.S. Secretary of State * Ellen Hayes, astronomer and mathematician *

Woody Hayes Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes (February 14, 1913 – March 12, 1987) was an American college football coach and player. He served as the head football coach at Denison University from 1946 to 1948, Miami University in Oxford, Ohio from 1949 to 195 ...

, a graduate of and football coach for

and coach at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

, co-founder of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' * Rob Mounsey, composer and arranger * Lea Ann Parsley, Olympic silver medalist in the women's

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

at the 2002

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

* Marcus Aurelius Root, leading daguerreotypist and author *

Alan Schaaf Alan Schaaf (born October 21, 1987), also known as MrGrim, is an American entrepreneur. He is best known as the founder and former CEO of the image sharing app and website Imgur. Early life Schaaf was born in Granville, Ohio. He attended Ohio ...

, founder of Imgur, an image sharing website * Brian Unger, named one of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

s "100 Most Creative People in Entertainment" in 1998 *

Willard Warner Willard Warner (September 4, 1826 – November 23, 1906) was a brevet brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was a U.S. senator from the state of Alabama after the war. Early life and career Warner was born in ...

, a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War * Scott Wiper, writer and director

References

External links

* * http://www.granvilleoh.com {{authority control Villages in Licking County, Ohio 1805 establishments in Ohio Villages in Ohio