finds the average American citizen, and that oftentimes quiet villages yield surprising results when subjected to critical analysis. The two Granvilles,
A Glimpse of Old Granville
A Glimpse of Old Granville
the old Granville in Massachusetts and the new Granville in Ohio, are not only excellent representatives of the best type of American towns, but they also serve as good illustrations of the expansive power of New England influence. The first contained 1,305 inhabitants in 1850; in 1890 there were but 1,061. The second registered 2,116 in 1850, 2,114 in 1880 and 2,326 ten years later. Neither one has ever had a large population. One is steadily declining in this respect; the other is steadily growing.
      What can be said to their credit cannot be passed upon population; and yet each might be written what was said of one of them in an after-dinner address a few years ago, when Edward Everett Hale told a story like this:
      "I recently formed the acquaintance of a Russian gentleman who had been traveling through the United States on a mission of investigation for his government. He had made good use of his opportunities and was full of opinions about the men and things he had seen. Among other things he said that he had been peculiarly impressed by the advantages enjoyed by American society in the smaller and little known places, where he had often found culture and comfort abounding which in other countries were confined to urban life. The theme was so novel to him that he dwelt upon it at some length, mentioning the places in the several states where he had particularly noticed the society,—and among the favored ones was Granville, Ohio."
      The history of the mother town properly began in the year 1735, when a young man named Samuel Bancroft and his bride, Sarah White, left the settlement of West Springfield and pushed into the wilderness until, six miles from the nearest settler, they camped upon a little plain in the uplands, where
Another Glimpse of Old Granville
Another Glimpse of Old Granville
the encircling hills enclosed them as if shutting them out from the world they had left behind. They were a typical New England couple. The wife rejoiced in that proudest legacy of the colonial dame, descent from one of the heroic company of the Mayflower; and from these Pilgrim ancestors, one hundred and fifteen years on American soil, she had gained the determination of char-
— page 98 —


These pages are © Laurel O'Donnell, 2000 - 2005, all rights reserved
Copying these pages without written permission for the purpose of republishing
in print or electronic format is strictly forbidden
This page was last updated on 22 Jul 2005