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History · Grafton

Grafton dates to 1832, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 20 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1850.

1832founded
8on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Grafton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Grafton began

When was Grafton founded?

1832

Grafton dates its founding to 1832 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 222 in 18502020 census: 626194 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1834.The full story ↓

What stands out about Grafton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Boom and bustPeaked at 1,266 in 1860; 626 people lived here in 2020.A historic districtThe Grafton Historic District takes in 20 historic buildings.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1914, drew every building in Grafton.Landmarks on the Register8 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · People over time

Grafton, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001850190019502000Peak: 1,266

Peaked at 1,266 in 1860; 626 people lived here in 2020.

17 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Grafton’s Wikipedia page.

On the National Register

8 listings protect 27 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
8
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
27
each building in a district counts
first listed
1994
Grafton Bank
Grafton BankGrafton Historic DistrictJohn and Amelia McClintock HouseParis Mason BuildingRuebel HotelSlaten-LaMarsh HouseCharles Brainerd HouseGrafton Boat Works
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne3
Hall and Parlor2
Side Hall Plan2
Classical Revival1
Late Victorian1
Italianate1
Grafton BankClassical Revival
Grafton Historic DistrictQueen Anne
John and Amelia McClintock HouseQueen Anne
Paris Mason BuildingHall and Parlor
Ruebel HotelCommercial Style
Slaten-LaMarsh HouseSide Hall Plan
Charles Brainerd HouseQueen Anne
All 8 listings
Grafton Boat WorksBuilding · listed 2022

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Every building

Grafton, building by building, 1894–1914

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Grafton fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Grafton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Grafton.

Read it all →

Founded in 1832 by James Mason, Grafton is the oldest city in Jersey County. Described as having "a post office, one store, one tavern, and a number of families" in 1834, the area was being settled as early as 1812 when a blockhouse was built at the confluence for protection. The city was named after Mason's birthplace of Grafton, Massachusetts. Grafton was incorporated on May 16, 1907.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Grafton, 1919–1924

Passages that mention Grafton, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The unusual first name of Grafton seems to have been introduced into the family with the first Grafton J ohnson ; and it may have been chosen by his mother because her ma¬ ternal uncle, Joshua Morris, once preached at the town of Grafton, in Virginia, located near her birthplace. The only other ins…
The ancestry of Grafton Johnson1924 · page 16Read the page →
Read the text

The unusual first name of Grafton seems to have been introduced into the family with the first Grafton J ohnson ; and it may have been chosen by his mother because her ma¬ ternal uncle, Joshua Morris, once preached at the town of Grafton, in Virginia, located near her birthplace. The only other instance in the United States of its being employed with this surname, as far as is known, pertains to the Graf¬ ton Johnson who left his will dated April 28, 1837, at Balti¬

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In 1856 the Grafton quarries were opened and in later years became quite an extensive and important industry at Grafton. There has also developed at Grafton an extensive industry in the building of steel small and light draft boats ; also government dredge boats. Some of the largest and most comple…
History of Jersey County, Illinois1919 · page 493Read the page →
Read the text

In 1856 the Grafton quarries were opened and in later years became quite an extensive and important industry at Grafton. There has also developed at Grafton an extensive industry in the building of steel small and light draft boats ; also government dredge boats. Some of the largest and most complete dredge boats upon the Mississippi River have been constructed at Grafton. The distilleries erected at Elsah and Graf¬ ton have had their day and all passed away.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
James Mason sent his brother Paris Mason to Grafton to look after his interests, and a general store was established by him at that point. A road was established, running from Bloomington to Springfield, thence to Carrollton and then to Grafton through the Otter Creek settlement.
History of Jersey County, Illinois1919 · page 458Read the page →
Read the text

James Mason sent his brother Paris Mason to Grafton to look after his interests, and a general store was established by him at that point. A road was established, running from Bloomington to Springfield, thence to Carrollton and then to Grafton through the Otter Creek settlement.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
named after another president and added about 1854, stood as its sole companion during the student days of the second Grafton Johnson. Though this institution was founded by ardent Baptists of Indiana, it has won the support of ad¬ herents of that faith elsewhere, one of its donors being John D. Ro…
The ancestry of Grafton Johnson1924 · page 316Read the page →
Read the text

named after another president and added about 1854, stood as its sole companion during the student days of the second Grafton Johnson. Though this institution was founded by ardent Baptists of Indiana, it has won the support of ad¬ herents of that faith elsewhere, one of its donors being John D. Rockefeller, Sr., who on two occasions has given sums amounting to $25,000. That the general manager of the drive for funds is Doctor Charles E. Goodell, president

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Grafton, 1832 to 1993

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1832
    FoundingGrafton is established
  3. 1834Post officeThe Grafton post office opens
  4. 1860CensusPopulation peaks at 1,266
  5. 1895Born hereGladys T. Nisbet is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1907Born hereRay Atkeson is born here
  8. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1936In the archiveTransient labor camp. Pere Marquette recreational demonstration project near Grafton, Ill…
  10. 1993In the archiveFEMA - 1448 - Photograph by Liz Roll taken on 07-01-1993 in Illinois
By decade

Grafton, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s3 items
Transient labor camp. Pere Marquette recreational demonstration project near Grafton, Illinois1936Transient labor camp. Pere Marquette recreational dem…Erosion control, showing check dam and brush at the Pere Marquette recreational project, near Grafton, Illinois1936Erosion control, showing check dam and brush at the P…Rock crusher crushing rock to be placed on trails on Pere Marquette recreational project. Grafton, Illinois1936Rock crusher crushing rock to be placed on trails on …
1940s–1980snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1990s3 items
FEMA - 1448 - Photograph by Liz Roll taken on 07-01-1993 in Illinois1993FEMA - 1448 - Photograph by Liz Roll taken on 07-01-1…FEMA - 1455 - Photograph by Liz Roll taken on 07-01-1993 in Illinois1993FEMA - 1455 - Photograph by Liz Roll taken on 07-01-1…FEMA - 1459 - Photograph by Liz Roll taken on 07-01-1993 in Illinois1993FEMA - 1459 - Photograph by Liz Roll taken on 07-01-1…
Today8 recent
Ruebel Hotel2014Ruebel HotelParis Mason Building2014Paris Mason BuildingMain northwest of Maple in2014Main northwest of Maple inJohn and Amelia McClintock House2014John and Amelia McClintock HouseLaMarsh house2013LaMarsh houseCharles brainerd2013Charles brainerdBank2013BankMeeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Route - Fine Dining at the Fin Inn2005Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Route - Fine Dinin…
On the map

Grafton on the map, 1927 to 1990

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Grafton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Grafton on the 1927 USGS mapGrafton on the 1933 USGS mapGrafton on the 1954 USGS mapGrafton on the 1990 USGS map1927St Charles sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Grafton.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Transient labor camp. Pere Marquette recreational demonstration project near Grafton, Illinois
Retake this viewTransient labor camp. Pere Marquette recreational demonstration project near Grafton, Illinois, 1936

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Grafton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Grafton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
G
Gladys T. NisbetAmerican botanist · b. 1895
R
Ray AtkesonAmerican photographer and postcard publisher · b. 1907
Help out

Finish Grafton’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewTransient labor camp. Pere Marquette re…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Grafton’s history

What year was Grafton founded?

In 1832, according to Wikidata. Grafton’s post office opened in 1834, and the census of 1850 counted 222 people here.

What is on the National Register in Grafton?

8 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Grafton Bank (listed 1994, the first), and 1 historic district, the Grafton Historic District, with 20 contributing buildings. 27 historic buildings in all.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (8), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.