4 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 110 buildings between them. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1790.
The Granville post office opened in 1804, the earliest record of the town by name. Four smaller post offices, East Granville (1827), West Granville (1833) and Granville Corners (1863), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,979 in 17902020 census: 1,538222 years
How historic is Granville?
A+
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Granville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Granville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Granville is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Granville’s overall grade.
Massachusetts towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Massachusetts town has 46.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Granville’s 607 sits above most of its state (94% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 112 historic buildings outnumber those of 90% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Granville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Granville had its own post office from 1804 to 1828. Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Granville
1804–1828
East Granville
1827–1894
West Granville
1833–1909
Granville Corners
1863–1883
Granville
1883–today
Granville Center
1894–1944
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Baird Four CornersGranville CenterWest Granville
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Granville
CenterGranvilleNortheast
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Granville on the map, 1887 to 1997
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Granville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1887Granville 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 Granville.
People over time
Granville, census by census
Lost two-thirds of its people between 1790 and 1920, then more than doubled.
19 censuses, 1790–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Granville’s Wikipedia page.
The story so far
Granville, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Granville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Granville is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,538 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is named for John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville.
Its first post office opened in 1804. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,566 in 2010, 1,538 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Granville, 1743 to 1933
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
The Granville post office opened in 1804, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Granville rank for history?
Granville is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Granville?
4 listings: 1 building and 3 historic districts, the Granville Center Historic District, the Granville Village Historic District and the West Granville Historic District, with 110 contributing buildings. 112 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Granville?
35% of Granville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.4 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1966.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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1933
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1939
2005
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