Granville, Ohio facts for kids

Granville, Ohio
Village
Granville streetscape
Motto: "One of Ohio's Best Hometowns"
Location of Granville, Ohio
Location within Licking County
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Licking
Area
• Total	4.71 sq mi (12.20 km2)
• Land	4.68 sq mi (12.12 km2)
• Water	0.03 sq mi (0.08 km2)
Elevation	961 ft (293 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	5,646
• Estimate (2012)	5,638
• Density	1,206.4/sq mi (465.8/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	43023
Area code(s)	740
FIPS code	39-31402
GNIS feature ID	1061369
Website	Village website

Granville is a village in Licking County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,646 at the 2010 census. The village is located in a rural area of rolling hills in central Ohio. It is 35 miles east of Columbus, the state capital, and 7 miles west of Newark, the county seat.

Granville is home to Denison University. The village is known for its wide central avenue, New England character and historic architecture, including Greek Revival structures like the Avery Downer House, St. Luke's Episcopal Church (1837) and many others. The Buxton Inn (1812), the Granville Inn (1924), Bancroft House (1834) and Bryn Du Mansion are local landmarks. The Granville Opera House, which formerly graced the corner of West Broadway and South main Street, burned to the ground in 1982 and was replaced with a public park.

History

Pioneer settlers

Granville was founded in 1805 by a colony of settlers from Granville, Massachusetts, who named the new village after their former home. The area was first surveyed in 1797, as land set aside for those who had served in the Revolutionary War. Among the earliest settlers were Theophilus Rees and Thomas Philipps who were born in Wales and left in 1795 for a new life on the American frontier. The village's Welsh heritage is still evident in numerous place names.

Early schools

Education was a pillar of early civic life. The village's pioneer settlers had built a three story brick school house by 1820. By the 1830s there were five schools in the village. As those educational institutions continued to develop through the mid and late 19th century, they began to serve students from throughout 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, and Shepardson College for Women. As several of the institution's names indicate, the education of young women was highly valued by the village's early settlers. Several of these institutions evolved into what is today Denison University.

Pre-Columbian culture

Granville is the location of the prehistoric Alligator Effigy Mound, built by the indigenous people of the Fort Ancient culture, between 800 and 1200 AD, 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. Barely five miles from the Alligator Effigy Mound are the impressive Newark Earthworks, associated with the Hopewell culture.

Geography

Granville is located at 40°4′3″N 82°30′44″W (40.067520, -82.512316). 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 Greek flood plain with the creek running from the west to east.

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  Alligator Effigy Mound

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  Bancroft House & Underground Railroad station

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  Buxton Inn (1812)

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  Granville Inn (1924)

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  Granville Public Library (1923)

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  Granville Public Library Statue (1983)

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  Granville Town Hall

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  Granville Seasonal Farmers Market

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  Avery-Downer House (Avery-Hunter House)

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  St. Luke's Episcopal Church

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  Bryn Du Farm (1865)

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  Sugar Loaf Park entrance

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  Sugar Loaf Park, Pioneer Monument

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  Lake Hudson

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  Granville, Ohio, Historical Society & Robinson Research Center

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  Old Colony Burying Ground (1805) gate

Religion

Churches occupy prominent positions at the center of the village and in the life of the community. At the intersection of Broadway and Main Street are located the First Presbyterian Church, Centenary United Methodist Church, St. Luke's Episcopal Church and the United Church of Granville (UCC). Nearby are Pilgrim Lutheran Church and St. Edward's Catholic Church. Also, located in the village are Spring Hills Baptist Church, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, Union Station Community Church and Bethel Apostolic Church.

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.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
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%
Est. 2015	5,747		1.8%
Sources:

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 5,646 people, 1,441 households, and 1,017 families residing 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 residing in the village. The population density was 790.4 people per square mile (304.9/km²). There were 1,384 housing units at an average density of 345.4 per square mile (133.3/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.

Points of Interest

• Denison University campus
• The Homestead at Denison University intentional & sustainable community
• Avery-Hunter House & Robbins Hunter Museum
• Granville Historical Society
• Historic Houses of Granville, self-guided tour
• Sugarloaf Park, Opera House Park & other local parks
• Alligator Effigy Mound
• Newark Earthworks
• Thomas Evans Trail & Bikeway
• Lake Hudson, seasonal swimming, picnicking, camping & fishing
• Polo games at Bryn Du
• Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve
• Dawes Arboretum
• Cranberry Bog at Buckeye Lake

• 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

Images for kids

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  Swasey Chapel at Denison University