The village has a number of historic buildings, including Greek Revival structures like the Avery Downer House, St. Luke's Episcopal Church (1837) and others.

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.

Less than five miles from the Alligator Effigy Mound are the Newark Earthworks, associated with the earlier Hopewell culture of roughly 100 BCE to 500 CE.

Granville was not settled by European Americans until 1805, but the first house was built in 1801 by John Jones, a Welshman born in New Jersey.

Born in Wales, they immigrated to the United States in 1795, and headed west for a new life on the American frontier.

[7] Throughout the 19th century, Granville's residents established a number of academies and seminaries (institutions of secondary education similar to high schools).

In these sermons, he would highlight the wrongdoings of Granville members that had occurred throughout the previous year, publicly shaming those who consumed large amounts of alcohol.

[13] The Granville Women's Temperance League would organize public demonstrations, petitions, and educational campaigns to raise awareness about the harmful effects of alcohol.

[14] Granville's pro-temperance stance played a role in the lynching of Carl Etherington, a 17-year-old Anti-Saloon League agent who was murdered in Newark, Ohio, after taking part in several saloon raids.

Barns, tasked Etherington and at least 18 other hired agents with executing search and seizure warrants for illicit saloons in Newark, Ohio.

[15] In the ensuing confrontations between the agents and Newark citizens, Etherington shot a former police captain and bar owner, and he was subsequently chased, beaten, and killed.

For example, an abolitionist named Mr. Weld attempted to hold a lecture in Granville on April 1, 1835, but he was egged and stoned by townspeople.

[7] After multiple instances of these violent outbursts, citizens of Granville began to express apprehension about holding these lectures because of the division and aggression they were causing.

Large mobs gathered to egg and stone the lecturers, and even shaved the tails and manes of the horses belonging to the abolitionist group.

Among few of the most notable railroad operators were Joseph Linnel and Edwin Cooley Wright, who regularly hosted people fleeing from slavery on their farms.

Granville has a long history of being home to the administrative center of the American Baptist Church in Ohio.

Like other Ohio independent colleges founded in the nineteenth century by religious denominations, the significance of Denison's church affiliation faded and today the university is a non-sectarian institution.

[27] The district receives strong performance rankings from the Ohio Department of Education[28] Located in the village is the Granville Christian Academy serving K-12 students.

On a hill overlooking the village is the campus of Denison University, founded in 1831 as the Granville Theological and Literary Seminary, originally affiliated with the Northern Baptist Convention.

Today, Denison is a private, residential, non-sectarian liberal arts college with a student body of about 2,300 and a faculty of 235.

[29] The Homestead at Denison University is a residential student intentional community focusing on environmental sustainability.

Completed in 1924, the chapel is named in honor of Ambrose Swasey, a benefactor to the college and prominent Cleveland inventor and businessman.

Granville residents may take advantage of many university facilities, such as the athletic center, free of charge.