Granville, Ohio

Granville, Ohio
Village
Granville streetscape
Motto:  "One of Ohio's Best Hometowns"
Location of Granville, Ohio
Location within Licking County
Coordinates: 40°03′50″N 82°30′44″W
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Licking
Area
• Total	4.86 sq mi (12.58 km2)
• Land	4.81 sq mi (12.46 km2)
• Water	0.05 sq mi (0.12 km2)
Elevation	997 ft (304 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	5,946
• Estimate  (2023)	6,281
• Density	1,236.43/sq mi (477.36/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	43023
Area code	740
FIPS code	39-31402
GNIS feature ID	2398193
Website	www.granville.oh.us

Granville is a village in Licking County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,946 at the 2020 census. The village is located in a rural area of rolling hills, known locally as the Welsh Hills, in central Ohio. It is 35 miles (56 km) east of Columbus, the state capital, and 7 miles (11 km) west of Newark, the county seat.

Granville is home to Denison University. The village has a number of historic buildings, including Greek Revival 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 Alligator Effigy Mound, built by the indigenous people of the Fort Ancient culture, between 800 and 1200 CE, more than four hundred years before European contact. It may be an effigy of the underwater panther featured in Native American mythology. The mound is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The area is rich in evidence of indigenous cultures. Less than five miles from the Alligator Effigy Mound are the Newark Earthworks, associated with the earlier Hopewell culture 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 Mr 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 4 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 & his son John. Born in Wales, they immigrated to the United States in 1795, and gradually 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. Other Welsh settlers followed them, leaving their heritage in numerous place names.

Early schools

Education was a pillar of early civic life. The first school was erected in January of 1806, approximately 2 months after the settlers arrived. They built the school using logs atop the site of a Presbyterian Church. The school was used for 3 to 4 years before a new school house was built out of brick. Although in its first three years of use, there were not enough students to fill the school. The school was rented out as a market-house and the upper rooms were rented out to the masonic fraternity. The School served as an all purpose building until 1854.

In 1820, the village's pioneer settlers built a different three-story brick school house. By the 1830s, the settlers established five schools in the growing village. The first academy, named Granville academy, was built in 1827 by the Congregational Church. The school was open to both male and females. The school conducted lessons on various branches of labor that was deemed necessary for the students to succeed in life. In fact, this division of branches of labor amongst gender is how Denison University first started out as well.

As the schools developed through the mid and late 19th century, the schools began to serve students from the region as well as from the village. Among those institutions were the Granville Literary and Theological Institution, the Granville Female Seminary, the Granville Episcopal Female Seminary, the Young Ladies’ Institute, the Granville Female Academy, Doane Academy (named after one of Denison University's earliest and most generous benefactors, William Howard Doane), and Shepardson College for Women. The seminaries generally served first as preparatory schools for college, what were later called high schools. This was a period in which girls' education was newly stressed, and the village ensured their young women could be educated. Several of these institutions later combined and developed as what is today Denison University.

Temperance

The first major advocate for temperance in Granville was Jacob Little. He arrived in Granville in 1827 and became the pastor of the church a year later. Jacob Little was the pastor of the Granville Congregational Church from 1828 to 1866 and aimed to achieve temperance in Granville. He is well-known for writing the first historical narrative of Granville, Ohio. He shared his thoughts on alcohol consumption mostly through his New Year’s Day Sermons. During his New Year’s Day Sermons, he would talk about the wrongdoing of people living in Granville throughout the year. He publicly shamed members of Granville who consumed large amounts of alcohol in attempts to stop the alcohol consumption. He continued his fight for temperance for 38 years in hopes of achieving temperance, but temperance wasn’t implemented in Granville until 1874. He had great influence over the temperance movement in Granville. He upheld temperance organizations within Granville and showed them his support.  

The Granville Women's Temperance League worked to achieve temperance in Granville and in 1874 the village council banned the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol. The Granville Women’s Temperance League organized public demonstrations, petitions, and educational campaigns to raise awareness about the harmful effects of alcohol. The town of Granville remained with the temperance until 1974, 41 years after the national ban ended. The long held temperance in Granville shaped its community values greatly.

Abolitionism

The 1830s were some of the most significant years in Granville’s history because of the changes made within the community regarding the growth of the abolitionist population and the general negative sentiment towards slavery in the area. In the early days of abolitionism beginning in 1825, Granville was widely divided over the issue, but abolitionist groups began to grow in size and influence, holding regular meetings and lectures. Oftentimes, these lectures were met with harsh resistance from anti-abolitionist locals, leading to violence.

Some of the most notable examples of these retaliations include a lecture held by abolitionist Mr. Weld on April 1, 1835, who was egged and stoned following his public appearance. After multiple instances of these violent outbursts, citizens of Granville began to become apprehensive about holding meetings to the division and aggression they were causing. With a large lecture scheduled to be held in April of 1836, a letter was written to the abolitionist group running the event asking not to hold the meeting in the village. The meeting took place anyways on April 27, and once again anti-abolitionist townspeople retaliated and became violent, with large mobs gathering to egg and stone the lecturers, and even shave off the tails and manes of the horses of the abolitionist group. Luckily, no one was killed however many were severely injured.

After this significant riot, the village's approach towards abolitionism shifted immensely. There was much less retaliation out of fear violence, and abolitionist groups grew in power, mostly due to the silencing of the anti-abolitionist population in the area. This growth led to the development of Granville’s participation in the Underground Railroad system, not as a mainstream path but as an offshoot route in the case that routes through Columbus, or the surrounding areas were too dangerous. Among some of the most notable railroad operators were Joseph Linnel and Edwin Cooley Wright, who regularly hosted slaves on their farms.

Geography

Granville Town Hall

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 4.71 square miles (12.20 km²), of which 4.68 square miles (12.12 km²) is land and 0.03 square miles (0.08 km²) 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

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1820	199		—
1830	362		81.9%
1840	727		100.8%
1850	771		6.1%
1860	801		3.9%
1870	1,109		38.5%
1880	1,127		1.6%
1890	1,366		21.2%
1900	1,425		4.3%
1910	1,394		−2.2%
1920	1,440		3.3%
1930	1,467		1.9%
1940	1,502		2.4%
1950	2,653		76.6%
1960	2,868		8.1%
1970	3,963		38.2%
1980	3,851		−2.8%
1990	4,244		10.2%
2000	3,167		−25.4%
2010	5,646		78.3%
2020	5,946		5.3%
2023 (est.)	6,281		5.6%
Sources:

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 5,646 people, 1,441 households, and 1,017 families living in the village. The population density was 1,206.4 inhabitants per square mile (465.8/km²). There were 1,554 housing units at an average density of 332.1 per square mile (128.2/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 91.9% White, 2.1% African American, 0.1% Native American, 3.6% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic 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 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 census of 2000, there were 3,167 people, 1,309 households, and 888 families living in the village. The population density was 790.4 inhabitants per square mile (305.2/km²). There were 1,384 housing units at an average density of 345.4 per square mile (133.4/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.75% White, 0.69% African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.01% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races. Hispanic 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 married couples 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 for the village was $39,221. About 3.9% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

Religion

St. Edward the Confessor Church with Christmas decoration

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 2014 included 220 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.

Swasey Chapel at Denison University

Denison University

On a hill overlooking the village is the campus of Denison University, founded in 1831 as the Granville Theological and Literary Seminary, originally affiliated with the Northern Baptist Convention. 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 and is certified by the Ohio Board of Regents 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 is a residential student intentional community focusing on environmental sustainability. 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

See also: List of Denison University alumni

• Hubert Howe Bancroft, an American historian and ethnologist
• Ernest DeWitt Burton, an American biblical scholar and president of the University of Chicago
• Paul Carpenter, a minor league baseball 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, a graduate of and football coach for Denison University and coach at Ohio State University
• George Jones, co-founder of the New York Times
• Rob Mounsey, composer and arranger
• Lea Ann Parsley, Olympic silver medalist in the women's skeleton at the 2002 Winter Olympics
• Marcus Aurelius Root, leading daguerreotypist and author
• Alan Schaaf, founder of Imgur, an image sharing website
• Brian Unger, named one of Entertainment Weekly's "100 Most Creative People in Entertainment" in 1998
• Willard Warner, a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War
• Scott Wiper, writer and director

See also

• Granville Sentinel

Further reading

• Granville: The Story of an Ohio Village, William T. Utter, 1956
• Wild Turkeys and Tallow Candles, Ellen Amanda Hayes, 1920
• Denison: The Story of an Ohio College, G. Wallace Chessman, 1957
• The Historical Times, newsletter of the Granville Historical Society

External links

• Official website
• http://www.granvilleoh.com