Granville is a college town located in Central Ohio just east of Columbus.
Founded in 1805 by settlers from Granville, Massachusetts, Granville was an early planned community. Surveyors were the first to arrive. Once they arrived back in Massachusetts the layout of the town as well as the farmlands surrounding the village was determined. Locations for churches and schools were identified; settlers coming to Ohio knew in advance what lot they would have in town and the location of their farmland.
The two main streets in the Village were planned to be extra wide streets. The central street in the village was called The Broad Way. Today it is known as Broadway, the key east – west street in the Village. The chief north – south route is Main Street.
Surrounding the intersection of Broadway and Main is the architectural review district which is designed to maintain the integrity of the existing architecture within the older, more historic area.
The community actively works to protect the quality of life provided by the rural environment. In addition to zoning restrictions, regular land purchases are made both for open space as well as for active recreation.
The Village of Granville is part of Granville Township. The Granville Exempted Village School District includes Granville Township, more or less the northern half of Union Township, and small parts of other townships.
Information for this article came from The Granville Times, William T. Utter’s book Granville: The Story of an Ohio Village.