[2] The county was formed in 1824 and was named for Major Benjamin Franklin Graves, a politician and fallen soldier in the War of 1812.

Later in the year, a ballot measure was proposed and passed within the city limits of Mayfield (the county seat) to allow alcohol sales in stores and gas stations.

Benjamin Franklin Graves, who was one of numerous Kentucky officers killed after being taken as a prisoner in the disastrous 1813 Battle of Raisin River in Michigan Territory during the War of 1812.

A woolen mill began operating before the Civil War and continued to expand with the men's clothing market.

The county seat's minor league baseball team was named the Mayfield Clothiers for this historical connection.

Whites had heard rumors that blacks were arming elsewhere in the county in retaliation for the lynching of Jim Stone earlier that week.

The whites recruited reinforcements from Fulton County and, overly tense, killed Will Suett, a young black man, as he was getting off a train to visit his family for the holidays.

[5] Acknowledging that Suett's death was unprovoked, white residents took up a collection for his widowed mother.

Later in the year, a ballot measure was proposed and passed within the city limits of Mayfield (the county seat) to allow alcohol sales in stores and gas stations.

Graves County made national news in September 2011 for jailing several Amish men who refused to use orange safety triangles on their buggies for religious reasons.

[7] Among notable county natives have been a US vice president, four US Congressmen, heroes, singers and songwriters, and noted writers.

On December 10, 2021, the 2021 Western Kentucky tornado moved through the county, causing significant damage, and widespread devastation in Mayfield.