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 has 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 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. Because there were not enough students to fill it, only the main floor was used for educational purposes; the basement served as a market, and a Masonic fraternity used the upper floor. •
Granville Academy / Doane Academy: Built in 1827 by the
Congregational Church, Granville Academy was initially open to both males and females, but by the time it was incorporated by the Ohio Legislature in 1836, it served only women. The academy closed in 1927 due to low enrollment, and the school building now houses Denison University's administrative offices.
Temperance The
Temperance Movement, a social and religious movement against the consumption of alcohol, had many supporters in Granville.
Jacob Little, a Congregationalist pastor in Granville from the late 1820s to 1866, was a leading advocate for temperance. The Granville Women's Temperance League would organize public demonstrations, petitions, and educational campaigns to raise awareness about the harmful effects of alcohol. Granville's pro-temperance stance played a role in the
lynching of Carl Etherington, a 17-year-old
Anti-Saloon League agent who was murdered in Newark, Ohio, after taking part in several saloon raids. On July 8, 1910, Granville's mayor, Dr. E.J. Barns, tasked Etherington and at least 18 other hired agents with executing search and seizure warrants for illicit saloons in Newark, Ohio. Despite this, the meeting took place on April 27 of that year, and once again, anti-abolitionist townspeople retaliated. Large mobs gathered to egg and stone the lecturers, and even shaved the tails and manes of the horses belonging to the abolitionist group. After the convention, the two factions clashed in the streets, using bats and daggers as weapons. Though no one was killed, many were severely injured. After this riot, the village's approach towards abolitionism shifted. There was less retaliation out of fear of violence, and abolitionist groups grew in power. This growth led to Granville's participation in the
Underground Railroad system, not as a main station, but as an alternative route in the case that routes through
Columbus or the surrounding areas were too dangerous. Among few of the most notable railroad operators were Joseph Linnel and Edwin Cooley Wright, who regularly hosted people fleeing from slavery on their farms. ==Geography==