BlockGrafton, Ohio
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Grafton Village. It lies in ZIP code area 44044. The Survey maps it on the Grafton quadrangle. 5,895 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 804 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1901 to 1986The same ground, surveyed 85 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
Compare 1901 against another survey:
On record in Grafton
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 3 records
Justin Breckenridge Houselisted 1978
Grafton Schoollisted 2008
Immaculate Conception Churchlisted 1976
Population over time
2 figuresGrafton fell from 6,636 to 5,895 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 6,636 | |
| 2020 | 5,895 | -741 (-11%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 16 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1901 USGS Oberlin quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1903 USGS Oberlin quadrangle1:62500
- 1953 USGS Grafton quadrangle1:24000
- 1956 USGS Toledo quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1961 USGS Toledo quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Grafton quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1986 USGS Lorain quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
In the county-history sources
16,558 words on this townshipHistory of Lorain County, Ohio, published 1879 names this settlement in its chapter on Grafton Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
The old-fashioned clock, made fast to the logs, has resumed its forward march, .and with extended hands faithfully nuxrks the passing time, yet moi'C than anything else, constantly reminding of time, and opportunities past, never to return. Only quite recently has its time or speed, its marks of comely face, or perfect form, been questioned; when silently its place of usefulness is yielded, aud in its stead a more beautiful face and form, with gilded hands and nimbler step, is measuring the flight of time. This same old clock, the first ever heard to tick in native land, the first pendulum swung in Grafton township, can now be heard and seen in Elyria this first day of January, 1879. Unlike young America is its slow and even step; its clear yet modest tick sometimes stopping entirely, as if asking "how much longer?" receiving in answer, "be patient, old settler, stand at your post to the last. Truth breaks through your faded face, while your worn and battered hands still point in the right direction."
Passage source: History of Lorain County, Ohio, published 1879.
Log house number second is built where I will settle my eldest brother, Seth C. Ingersoll, with his wife and three little pioneer boys, Ardin, Reuben and Ralph. This was on the lot directly north of my father's, and now owned by Hobart Corning. Seven children were added to their family after coming to Grafton. The first white child born in number four
Passage source: History of Lorain County, Ohio, published 1879.
In the month of February, 1817, William B. Crittenden and family, from Pittsfiekl, Massachusetts, come among us, being the first pleasant company, out of town during the winter. Mr. Crittenden becomes the first settler at the center of the town, owning the southeast corner lot. I want to write the names in full of every person coming to our settlement in 1817. William B. Crittenden, his wife Lydia, eldest daughter Marietta, four years of age; the little boy Henry, now a resident of Grafton. Some incident might be given in connection with every name I shall write. Again are we rejoiced to see covered wagons bringing settlers to join us. This time, the family of Mr. Eliphalet Jones, from Tyringliam, Berkshire county, is remembered; Eliphalet, and Polly, his wife, familiai'ly called Uncle LifE and Aunt Polly; their eldest son, Linas, nearly nineteen; Sanuintha, sixteen; Emeline, twelve (afterward Mrs. JosiaJi Taylor); John R., always called Riley, aged nine, now living at Rawsonville; Erastus, seven, remained on the spot where log house number four was l)uilt until his death in 1877; Harriet, then three years of age, now Mrs. Ashley Root. Mr. and Mrs. Root <ire the only couple of pioneers remaining in Grafton in 1879 - children in 1817.
Passage source: History of Lorain County, Ohio, published 1879.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Grafton Township - it names this place 53 more 53 times.
Specimens collected near this place
12 of 1,332 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,332 specimens collected within 10 miles of Grafton between 1853 and 1975: 634 Animalia, 516 Fungi, 150 Plantae, 15 Protozoa, 13 Chromista, 4 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. E. Recksecker, A. E. Ricksecker, A. M. Evans and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.
| Image | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Cantharellus minor Peck | 1896 | F.D. Kelsey | Near Oberlin |
 | Polyporus arcularius (Batsch) Fr. | 1896 | F.D. Kelsey | |
 | Dryopteris spinulosa (O.F.Müll.) Watt | 1899 | Ricksecker, A.E. | Wood 4 miles south of Oberlin. |
 | Ammocrypta pellucida (Putnam, 1863) | 1853 | Baird, Spencer Fullerton | Black River, below falls at Elyria, Ohio |
 | Etheostoma blennioides Rafinesque, 1819 | 1853 | S. Baird | Black River Elgria Ohio (above falls) |
 | Etheostoma caeruleum Storer, 1845 | 1853 | S. Baird | Elyria, Ohio |
 | Etheostoma maculatum Kirtland, 1840 | 1853 | S. Baird | Elyria, Ohio |
 | Accipiter cooperii (Bonaparte, 1828) | 1894 | Dawson, W. L. (William Leon) | Oberlin, Lorain, Ohio, USA |
| Albugo candida (Pers. ex J.F.Gmel.) Roussel | 1894 | F.D. Kelsey | Oberlin | |
| Biscogniauxia atropunctata (Schwein.) Pouzar | 1894 | F. D. Kelsey | Oberlin. | |
| Botrychium virginianum subsp. virginianum | 1894 | Dick, W.M. | Oberlin. | |
 | Bryum caespiticium Hedw. | 1894 | F. D. Kelsey |
All 1,332 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Storms near this place
27 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Grafton in 27 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 13 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 1 funnel cloud. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1996 | Lightning | Grafton | 1 hurt | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $50,000 | Building collapsed at 2000 Avon Belden Road in Grafton area. |
| August 2023 | Tornado (EF0) | Grafton | $50,000 | A tornado with estimated peak winds of 85 mph occurred about three-miles north of Lagrange. This tornado began behind a residence on OH Route 301, where it snapped the tops of several trees, removed the porch roof completely, and removed portions of the home's roof. As the tornado moved southeastward, it caused significant damage to over a dozen trees, including several mature maple trees. One of these trees fell onto a another home, punctured its roof in several places, and damaged multiple vehicles. The tornado crossed OH Route 301 and damaged additional trees before dissipating soon thereafter. |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $50,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed many trees in Grafton and nearby Eaton Township. At least one house was damaged by trees. |
| January 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $15,000 | Several trees and a few utility poles were reported down. |
| September 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $15,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed several trees in Elyria and a few large limbs in Grafton. |
| July 2013 | Hail | Grafton | $10,000 | The public reported golf ball size hail in Grafton. |
| May 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed a tree near Grafton and another just east of Eaton Estates. Power outages were reported in the area. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $5,000 | Trees downed. |
| October 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $3,000 | A tree and large limb was reported down. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $2,000 | A few large limbs were reported down. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $2,000 | A few large limbs were reported down. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | $1,000 | Trees were downed. |
| April 2026 | Hail | Grafton | - | Hail up to half dollar-size about two-miles west of Grafton. |
| April 2026 | Hail | Grafton | - | Hail up to quarter-size in Grafton. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Grafton | - | Hail up to quarter-size in Grafton. |
| April 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Grafton | - | Large trees downed in Grafton. |
| March 2020 | Hail | Grafton | - | Trained spotter reported quarter-size hail in Grafton. |
| April 2011 | Hail | Grafton | - | Quarter sized hail was observed. |
| May 2007 | Hail | Grafton | - | Penny size hail was observed. |
| May 2006 | Hail | Grafton | - | Penny size hail was observed. |
| June 2006 | Hail | Grafton | - | Penny size hail was observed. |
| April 2005 | Hail | Grafton | - | Penny size hail was observed. |
| May 2004 | Hail | Grafton | - | Penny size hail was observed. |
| May 2001 | Funnel Cloud | Grafton | - | A funnel cloud was reported over the Grafton Correctional Facility. No damage occurred. |
| June 2000 | Hail | Grafton | - | Dime size hail was observed at a golf course just outside of Grafton. |
| June 1994 | Hail | Grafton | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsleys Corners | 1.9 miles | 16 | |
| Belden | 2.9 miles | 11 | |
| Brentwood Lake | 3.2 miles | 16 | |
| Eaton | 3.4 miles | 16 | |
| Eaton Estates | 3.6 miles | 16 | |
| Laporte | 4.2 miles | 16 | |
| Lagrange | 4.2 miles | 11 | |
| North Eaton | 4.8 miles | 20 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Grafton | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1028075 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1064744. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.