Seniors Explore Granville

Granville is a village in Licking County, Ohio, founded by settlers from Granville, Massachusetts and Granby, Connecticut. It now has three times the population of its namesake. The population runs just under 6,000. I love those smaller “villages”. Seniors, let’s go check out Granville and see what’s there.

I discovered Granville to be a quaint, New England-style community located along the western edge of the Appalachian Plateau. It is the home of Denison University, so the village population rises when the college students (Full-time enrollment: 2,268) are back in session. Let’s take a walk around downtown Granville and get to know the village.

Granville is known for its New England character and historic architecture. The Buxton Inn (1812) and the Granville Inn (1924) are two landmarks. Granville is the location of the prehistoric Alligator Effigy Mound, built by the indigenous people of the Fort Ancient culture, between 800 and 1200 CE, more than four hundred years before European contact. The mound is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and well worth a visit.

Historic Granville Draws Seniors

In 2005 for the Granville Bicentennial the village compiled a listing of all the historic structures. Take a look and senior visitors will have an idea what Granville looks like yet today.

I would want to head over to Denison University to the The Denison Museum in Burke Hall. After that I’d like to take in the The Granville Historical Society Museum, housed in the 1816 building that had been the Bank of the Alexandrian Society.

Open seasonally, it houses and displays important artifacts from the history of the area, from a mastodon tooth, to a bassoon that saw action in the War of 1812, to a wide array of clothing and household objects. Ever seen a mastodon tooth? Me either.

The Granville Historical Society Museum is a one story stone building with a gable roof is one of the few early stone buildings in Granville. In addition to its use as a bank, the building has housed a store, post office, library, restaurant, millinery and interurban railway depot. Since Granville’s sesquicentennial celebration in 1955, it has been the home of the Granville Historical Society Museum.

This village has much to offer senior travelers.  I think you will enjoy your time in Granville. -jeb