The heritage section of the village’s website said that year Jonathan and Grindall Rawson, a pair of brothers from Massachusetts, visited the region, which was then part of the Connecticut Western Reserve, to find 160 acres which were purchased by their father.

The brothers, along with Jonathan’s wife, returned the following year and selected lots in what would become Grafton Township and Eaton Township. In 1818 Grindall Rawson built a cabin opposite of what is now Willow Park and his marriage with Mariah Ashley became the first in the community, the site said.

Nathanial Boughton and the Rawson brothers built a sawmill near Willow Park which was followed by a grist mill in 1826 which was meant to accommodate the stream of newcomers to the region, the site said.

Jonathan Rawson began selling plots in 1820 along Elyria-Medina Road which became Grafton Station and in 1846 the first hotel, the Whitbeck, was built followed in 1852 by the Hand, the site said.

In 1846, sandstone was discovered near Parsons Road and Indian Hollows Road, and it began drawing immigrants from Poland, Wales, Ireland and Germany. That was followed by the discovery of sandstone on the Rawson property in 1877, the site said.

Paul Justy co-authored a book with Chris Smith titled “The Lost Quarry Industry of Indian Hollow and Willow Park” which describes the quarry industry in town.

He said that the discovery of sandstone was akin to the gold rush and anyone with money would seek to invest in the industry.

“Basically (the quarries) were to supply stone for the big four railroad,” he said. “Then the quarries benefited from the railroad because it gave them an outlet to send product out and they sent product out all over the world.”

Justy said that Grafton sandstone was used to construct buildings at Oberlin College, the Old County Courthouse and some of the parliament buildings in Canada.

In May 1852, though, the area was being confused with Grafton Center, Grafton Township and Grafton Station so the area’s name was changed to Rawsonville, the site said.

The first school in the area was built on the Rawson property in 1849. It was moved to Chestnut 1868 and a full 12-year school was completed in 1892. The Elm Street School building, 1111 Elm St., which operated from 1936 to 1955, is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the site said.

The register shows that the school was added in 2008 and is an art deco architectural style and is currently vacant.

The register also shows the Justin Breckinridge house, 37174 South Main St., was added in 1978. The Greek revival style home is currently privately owned but its period of significance is from 1850 to 1874.

Immaculate Conception Church, 708 Erie St., also appears on the registry.

The village’s site said that parishioners started their worship in 1865 in a small building that was later moved to Erie Street.

Throughout the 1870s various railroads came to town leaving behind such landmarks as the C&O Caboose and a railroad control tower that was built in 1913, the site said.

The village, renamed back to Grafton, was incorporated on Jan. 1, 1877, the site said.

Up until the 1950s, the northern part of town was mainly just farmland, but it now the home to many housing developments and business along Main Street.