Granville is a town on the eastern border of Washington County, New York, United States, abutting Rutland County, Vermont. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 6,215 at the 2020 census.

Granville has been called the "Colored Slate Capital of the World." Quarries in the town mine slate that comes in colors such as green, gray, gray black, purple, mottled green and purple, and red. Walter Granville-Smith was born in Granville.

Granville Avenue and the associated CTA station in Chicago are named after the town, as was the former Town of Granville, Wisconsin.

History

From evidence discovered circa 1850, the St. Francis Native Americans appear to have used the town for hunting and making tools in the past.

thumb|[[Perspective map of Granville with list of landmarks from 1886 by L.R. Burleigh]]

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.

The town was founded in 1780.

Early agricultural efforts included dairy herds and sheep raising.

Extensive slate deposits were located in 1846 in nearby Fair Haven, and in 1850 more slate deposits were found in Middle Granville. The first Granville slate quarries opened around 1853. The first slate deposits had been located in 1839 and were used for local construction.

Geography

The eastern town line is the border of Vermont (Rutland County).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 56.1&nbsp;square miles (145.4&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), of which 56.1&nbsp;square miles (145.2&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) is land and 0.04&nbsp;square mile (0.1&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) (0.05%) is water.

NY&nbsp;22A diverges from NY&nbsp;22 by Middle Granville. NY&nbsp;149 joins NY&nbsp;22 south of Granville village.

The Mettawee River and the Indian River are two large streams in the town.

Neighboring cities and towns

Demographics

As of the census of 2020, there were 6,215 people and 2,790 households residing in the town. The population density was .

  • Martins Pond &ndash; The largest of several ponds located south of Slyboro.
  • Middle Granville &ndash; A hamlet northeast of Granville village, located on NY&nbsp;22A. The Dayton-Williams House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
  • North Granville &ndash; A hamlet on NY&nbsp;22 in the northwestern part of Granville. The Town-Hollister Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.- Educates prekindergarten through 12th grade students.

Sports

In 1951 Mettowee Speedway, a dirt oval racing facility, was opened near the hamlet of North Granville, New York. It operated through 1953, and was the underpinning of track champion Steve Danish claiming the 1953 NASCAR New York Sportsman crown.

Notes

References

  • Town of Granville, NY
  • Granville, NY Area Chamber of Commerce