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.[6]Walter Granville-Smith was born in Granville.
From evidence discovered circa 1850, the St. Francis Native Americans appear to have used the town for hunting and making tools in the past.[citation needed]
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.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 56.1 square miles (145.4 km2), of which 56.1 square miles (145.2 km2) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km2) (0.05%) is water.
NY 22A diverges from NY 22 by Middle Granville. NY 149 joins NY 22 south of Granville village.
The Mettawee River and the Indian River are two large streams in the town.
There were 2,790 households in 2020, with an average household size of 2.27.[2]
In the town, 20.6% were under the age of 18 and 4.3% were under the age of 5 in 2020. Persons 65 years and older made up 22.4% of the population. The percent of the population that was female was 52.9%.[2]
The median income for a household in the town was $46,824 in 2020 dollars. The per capita income for the town was $26,396. About 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line.[2]
Communities and locations
Granville – A village located on NY 149 by the Vermont border.
Granville Airport (B01) – Located one mile north of Granville village, this facility consists of one asphalt runway.
Guilder Hollow—The now-extinct hamlet was named for the van Guilder family who resided there. A. H. Estabrook and Charles Davenport's "The Nam Family: A Cacogenic Family of New York State" (1912) provides a pseudo-scientific ethnography of the family. The study gave pseudo-scientific support for eugenics, which linked feeblemindedness, criminality and a host of other failings to genetics, and proposed to improve society by limiting the reproductive rights of "defective" families.
Hillsdale – A hamlet in the southern part of the town on NY 149.
Lee District - A hamlet along Lee Road, centered by Schoolhouse No. 2.[9]
Martins Pond – The largest of several ponds located south of Slyboro.
North Granville – A hamlet on NY 22 in the northwestern part of Granville. The Town-Hollister Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.[10]
Raceville – A hamlet in the northeastern part of the town, located on NY 22A.
Hicks Orchard – A hamlet west of the Granville village, located on County Route 23.
