The History of Grafton Village
Grafton, today
a community of some 2302 residents, was
settled in 1817 by Jonathan and Grindall Rawson. Like many of the area’s earliest settlers, the Rawsons
migrated from the western part of Massachusetts. Their first living
quarters was a log cabin on a hill overlooking Willow Park on Main Street.
A few years later, a homestead was built a short distance away. 
In 1818 the
Rawson brothers and Nathaniel Boughton erected a sawmill near the homestead
and in 1826 built a gristmill in the same area.
The community’s
growth began in 1846 after the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad finalized plans for the construction of a railroad that crossed Jonathan
Rawson’s property. The area was chosen because the nearby Black River could
supply water for the steam locomotives. The railroad agreed to lay the
tracks and build a station if Rawson would help develop the town. The town
became known as Rawsonville until 1877, when the name Grafton was officially
accepted.
The first store
in Grafton came into being the fall following the completion of the
C.C. &
C. Railroad. Hand & Sawtell began the operation of a
general merchandise
business in the building formerly occupied by which was destroyed in fire in
late 1990’s Nader’s Restaurant.
During this
period, stone quarries opened nearby and brought many German, Irish and
Polish workers into the community. To meet the needs of the of the railroad
and quarry operations, false-front stores, hotels, dry-goods stores and
saloons sprang up on Main Street.
By the early
1870’s, approximately 25 commercial structures had been built and the town
was bustling with activity.
Two large
hotels were located near the railroad station, and many “tales” have been
told through the years of outlaws having stayed in them.
Four churches
were operating in Grafton before the turn of the century:
Assumption Catholic Church, The Congregational,
The Methodist Episcopal, and The
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Immaculate Conception was the first Catholic Church formed
between Cleveland and Sandusky. It was organized in 1840 and in 1867 the
present church building was erected at a cost of $10,000, using stone from
the local quarries. The church is listed on the National Historic
Register.
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