Granville dates to 1780, and 33% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 89% of U.S. towns · #278 of 758 in New York. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Lemuel Haynes House, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1820.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1797.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Granville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Granville is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #278 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Granville’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Granville’s 19.4 sits near the middle of its state (56% of New York towns have fewer) while its 12 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1780.
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 (±6.5 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (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.
All Saints HallbuildingAll Saints Roman Catholic ChurchchurchElvell QuarrymineEmma Lang Stevens HospitalhospitalGranville Fire Station Number 1buildingPenrhyn Hill Vein Slate QuarryminePhillips QuarrymineQuaker Street SchoolschoolSchool Number 13schoolSchool Number 14schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 5schoolSheldon Slate QuarrymineWestern Slate Quarrymine
10cemeteries and burying grounds inside Granville
BethanyElmwoodMettowee ValleyNorth GranvilleOld QuakerOur Lady of Mount CarmelReynoldsSouth Granville Congregational ChurchTannerTaylor Hill
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, 1893 to 1944
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Granville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893Fort Ann 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.
On the National Register
6 historic places in Granville
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
From evidence discovered circa 1850, the St. Francis Native Americans appear to have used the town for hunting and making tools in the past.
This border area between Vermont and New York was, for a long period, not clearly under control of either state. Arrivals from New England settled here, hoping to gain the benefits of New England in areas such as land ownership and voting rights. Early settlers arrived before 1770, but the state line was not established until 1790, leaving settlers in this town within New York State.
Early agricultural efforts included dairy herds and sheep raising.
In addition to his drug business, which is complete in every department, Mr. Haskins is also interested in farming. In i883 he built a fine residence in Granville, which he subsequently traded for a farm of 107 acres in South Granville, where he carries on a fine dairy business. along with general farming. He is an enterprising and progressive business man, always ready to support any undertaking looking to the advancement of his town or county, and was one of the promoters of the Granville Telephone Company at Granville, which he
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Notwithstanding his large business responsibilities General Hughes has found time to render the people service in different public capacities. He has been County Treasurer for one term, was President of the village of Granville seven years and was one of the promoters and is a director of the Granville Telephone Company. Pie is also a director of the Peoples’ National Bank of Salem, N. Y.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Granville is on the forks of Pike Run. It contains 25 dwellinghouses, a population of 130, and has an extensive pottery and a woollen factory. In the township is one woollen factory, one distillery, two grist-mills, and a saw-mill. There are also two excellent shipping coal works in this township.
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
Granville, 1780 to 1975
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.
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.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Retake this viewPrichard, 1860
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Granville’s page.
In 1780, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Granville’s post office opened in 1797, and the census of 1820 counted 3,727 people here.
How does Granville rank for history?
Granville is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #278 of 758 in New York. 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?
6 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Lemuel Haynes House (a National Historic Landmark since 1975). 12 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Granville?
33% of Granville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (2), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, 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.
★ Landmark
1860
2008