[3] In 1874, when the Chicago and Northwestern Railway was being surveyed for a path through the town of Auburn, located a little more than a mile to the south, one of Grant City's prominent business men - John Gray Sr. - reportedly offered the railway company a thousand dollars to adjust the route north to catch Grant City, a sum apparently deemed insufficient to adequately offset the cost of trestle work needed to span the river valley.

The pits contained clay, sand, and gravel, which were transferred by conveyor cars on a system of wire cables suspended by tall wooden towers spanning the river valley for a distance of a quarter mile.

The quality of the finished product was not able to withstand the competition in the brick-building market and the expensive overhead costs led to the cessation of operations.

[2] In 1904 the village incorporated officially as Grant City, a move which was motivated primarily to qualify for better school appropriations under Iowa law for the brick schoolhouse and related needs.

[6] The town experienced a little lift during the Great War with strong farm product prices[3] and by 1915, a short-lived automobile dealership was constructed on the east side of Main Street.

[2] On the evening of May 3, 1919, at approximately 6:45pm, a tornado developed just south of the nearby town of Ulmer and moved east/northeasterly in a 200-ft wide path towards Grant City.

[10] The 2nd story of the brick schoolhouse had blown off [see photo], and the Methodist Episcopal Church was completely swept away, with pieces scattered for miles.

[11] Wind speeds from the event were sufficient to move tombstones in the cemetery[3] and damage a brick building on the east side of Main Street.