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Grafton

City · Lorain County · 5,895 residents · 1.5% municipal income tax

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Lorain County

Local events in Grafton

Nothing is posted for Grafton itself yet; here is what is on within 10 miles. All local events in Grafton

  1. Wandering Storybook Cafe

    10:30 a.m. to noon · Keystone · Lagrange · 5.5 mi · From Elyria Public Library

  2. Slime Time

    4 to 5 p.m. · South Branch: Maker Space · Elyria · 5.8 mi · From Elyria Public Library

  3. Manga & Munchies

    3:30 to 4:30 p.m. · South Branch: Conference Room · Elyria · 5.8 mi · From Elyria Public Library

Know a calendar we should watch? Send the link

Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.

How Grafton began

Grafton lies on the East Branch of the Black River in Town 4, Range 16, settled from 1816 by families from Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Wikipedia says it was platted in 1846 when the railroad reached it, renamed Rawsonville in May 1852 to end confusion with Grafton Township and Grafton Station, and incorporated as a village on 1 January 1877 with the Grafton name restored (the 1916 county history says 1882). Quarrying, oil drilling in 1875-76 and the railroad shaped it; prisons built from the 1990s tripled its population, from 2,302 in 2000 to 6,636 in 2010.

Settled Fall 1816 (township; Ingersoll family), platted 1846 (per Wikipedia), incorporated 1 January 1877 (per Wikipedia; the 1916 county history gives 1882).

Where the name comes from

Grafton is the township's name (given by the Medina County commissioners in 1818); the village was called Rawsonville from May 1852, apparently for the Rawson family of early settlers (Jonathan and Grindell Rawson are named in the 1879 history), until the Grafton name was restored at incorporation. Wikipedia suggests it may be transferred from Grafton, Massachusetts, which no source confirms.

Before the town

No Native site is recorded in the village. The Ingersoll family's memoir names Native visitors elsewhere in Grafton Township.

Timeline

  1. — Major William Ingersoll's family settles in the township in November, the beginning of settlement around the future village.
  2. — The township of Grafton is incorporated by the Medina County commissioners.
  3. — Grafton is platted as the railroad is extended to the site, according to Wikipedia.
  4. — The Justin Breckenridge House is built; it is later listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  5. — The place is renamed Rawsonville to avoid confusion with Grafton Township and the settlements of Grafton Center and Grafton Station.
  6. — Trains begin to run on the Toledo, Norwalk and Cleveland Railroad through Grafton rather than Elyria, a line that also carried students to Oberlin.
  7. — The Rawsonville Union School District is organized from a Grafton and an Eaton district; a two-grade school building is put up in 1875.
  8. — The Methodist Episcopal church at Rawsonville is formed; its church is dedicated in January 1875.
  9. — Grafton Lodge No. 239, Knights of Pythias, is instituted at Rawsonville in the middle of the oil boom.
  10. — The village is incorporated and the Grafton name is restored, according to Wikipedia; the 1916 county history says the village corporation dates from 1882.
  11. — The village counts 1,098 people, up from 600 in 1890.
  12. — The county history describes Grafton as a place of about 1,000 people that had been an important stone-quarrying center, with one quarry left making grindstones.
  13. — Grafton withdraws from Grafton and Eaton townships by forming a paper township called Rawsonville Township.
  14. — Population climbs from 2,302 in 2000 to 6,636 in 2010, driven largely by the correctional facilities built in the village; it is 5,895 in 2020.

Stories

Rawsonville and the oil rush

By 1879 the village at the railroad was known as Rawsonville, not Grafton, and it was the supply depot for an oil field. In July 1875 Charles Rupert's well on the Card farm flowed sixty barrels a day, and men from the Pennsylvania oil country poured in; land rose to 'almost fabulous prices' and about fifty wells were sunk in six months. In 1876 J. C. Blood brought in a 130-barrel well on the Shafer farm after three weeks of steady pumping. The oil was never good for lamps but made an excellent lubricant. The Knights of Pythias lodge instituted that October and the new two-grade school built in 1875 date from the same moment.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · archive.org · archive.org

Historic places

2 places in Grafton on the National Register of Historic Places. Press a pin or a name for its whole record.

  1. Grafton SchoolBuilding · Grafton · listed 2008
    Address
    1111 Elm St.
    Where
    Grafton, Lorain County · ZIP 44044
    What it is
    Building
    Listed on the National Register
    2008
    NRIS reference number
    08000117
    Coordinates
    41.27589, -82.05060

    National Register file (NPS) ↗ Search Wikipedia ↗ Street map and directions ↗ On the Cracked Buckeye map

  2. Immaculate Conception ChurchBuilding · Grafton · listed 1976
    Address
    708 Erie St.
    Where
    Grafton, Lorain County · ZIP 44044
    What it is
    Building
    Listed on the National Register
    1976
    NRIS reference number
    76001469
    Coordinates
    41.27699, -82.05991

    National Register file (NPS) ↗ Search Wikipedia ↗ Street map and directions ↗ On the Cracked Buckeye map

Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places point file. The listing year is shown where NPS's certification date agrees with the listing's reference number. Listing recognizes significance; it does not restrict a private owner.

Every historic place in Lorain County on the full map

Water

Lake Erie, drawn through two separate offshore intakes serving the Lake Road filtration plant The water here

Hospitals, fire stations and more

Inside Grafton's boundary: 2 fire and EMS stations, 1 poor-rated bridge, 1 library, 1 museum, 1 police station, 1 public charging site, 2 Toxics Release Inventory facilities and 1 spill case. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.

Fire and EMS stations (2)

  1. Grafton Village Fire Department Station 1Grafton
    Address
    1013 Chestnut Street, Grafton, OH 44044
    Coordinates
    41.27129, -82.05453

    USGS National Map structures (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗

  2. Grafton Village Fire Department Station 2Grafton
    Address
    1050 Novak Road, Grafton, OH 44044
    Coordinates
    41.28335, -82.05445

    USGS National Map structures (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗

Source: USGS National Map structures (most Ohio records last updated 2019 to 2022), checked against the Columbus and Cleveland station lists. The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction and mutual aid, not by distance.

Bridges rated poor (1)

  1. Chamberlain Rd over E.b.black Rv ChamberlainPoor · built 1938
    Condition
    Poor: a deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale
    What it is
    Bridge
    Built
    1938
    Length
    8 ft
    Owner
    County
    Vehicles a day
    878
    Coordinates
    41.26907, -82.05689

    National Bridge Inventory (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗

Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory 2025. "Poor" means one major part rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale; it calls for repair, not closing, unless the state posts or closes the bridge.

Public libraries (1)

  1. Grafton/Midview Public LibraryCentral library · Grafton
    Address
    983 Main St., Grafton, OH 44044
    What it is
    Central library
    Library system
    Grafton/Midview Public Library
    Open
    3,030 hours a year, 52 weeks
    Building
    11,040 sq ft
    System's visits, FY2024
    49,348
    System's loans, FY2024
    108,783
    People the system serves
    23,668
    Phone
    (440) 926-3317

    IMLS Public Libraries Survey (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗

Source: IMLS Public Libraries Survey FY2024 (outlets and their systems). Any Ohio resident can get a free card at any Ohio public library.

Museums, historical societies, gardens and zoos (1)

  1. Grafton Village History AssociationHistorical society · Grafton
    What it is
    Historical society
    City
    Grafton
    Coordinates
    41.27374, -82.05613

    Search Wikipedia ↗ IMLS Museum Data Files (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗

    The museum list is IMLS's 2018 file; a museum may have closed or moved since.

Source: IMLS Museum Data Files, 2018.

Police stations (1)

  1. Grafton Police DepartmentGrafton
    Address
    1009 Chestnut Street, Grafton, OH 44044
    Coordinates
    41.27135, -82.05484

    USGS National Map structures (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗

Source: USGS National Map structures, police stations, corrected and completed by hand (September 2026). The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction, not by distance.

Public EV charging (1)

  1. VOG EV STATION VOG EV STATION2 Level 2 · Grafton
    Address
    960 Main St, Grafton, OH 44044
    Ports
    2 Level 2
    Plugs
    J1772
    Network
    ChargePoint Network
    Hours
    24 hours daily
    Phone
    888-758-4389

    Station Locator (NREL) ↗ Alternative Fuels Data Center (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗

Source: NREL Alternative Fuels Data Center station list (May 2026), public and open stations, the posts at one address counted as one site.

Facilities reporting toxic releases (2)

  1. Epc IndToxics Release Inventory · Grafton
    Address
    1001 Commerce Dr., Grafton, OH 44044
    County
    Lorain County
    Status
    Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
    EPA program ID
    44044PCNDS1001C
    EPA registry ID
    110002110233

    EPA facility record ↗ EPA Facility Registry Service (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗

  2. General Casting Co Grafton DivToxics Release Inventory · Grafton
    Address
    1080 Cleveland Street, Grafton, OH 44044
    County
    Lorain County
    Status
    Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
    EPA program ID
    44044LRSNF1080C
    EPA registry ID
    110000385583

    EPA facility record ↗ EPA Facility Registry Service (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗

Source: EPA Facility Registry Service, Toxics Release Inventory reporters. Reporting a release is required of large users of listed chemicals; it is not by itself a violation.

Spills reported since 2021 (1)

  1. Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2026-03-31 · Grafton
    Reported
    2026-03-31
    What spilled
    Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
    Where
    Grafton, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2603EPA0000533

    Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗

Source: Ohio EPA emergency response spill reports, 2021 to September 2026, one point per case where Ohio EPA placed it. A report is what the caller or responder recorded; amounts are often blank or estimated.

Its ZIP codes

Each ZIP code that touches Grafton, with the share of its residents who live here and the same headline figures as the ZIP page.

ZIPShareWaterRadon Home valueSchoolsFlood
44044 Grafton 40% Lake Erie, drawn through two separate offshore intakes serving the Lake Road filtration plant 2.7 pCi/L average radon Median year built 1974 Midview Local · 4 stars overall 3.8% of residents in the 1% floodplain

Local government

Who holds office in Grafton, how its elections and ballot issues came out, and the state auditor's record.

Elections for office

DateOfficeCandidates and votes
2025-11-04 Member of Council, Ward 2 Rodney Campbell 73, 51.77%; Timothy M. Strah 46, 32.62%; James M. Roth 22, 15.6%; Withdrawn Candidate 0
2025-11-04 Member of Council, Ward 1 Brian M. Romes 93, 60.0%; Matthew Adam Dukles 62, 40.0%
2025-11-04 Member of Council at Large Scott W. Kilgore 410, 62.88%; David M. DiVencenzo 242, 37.12%

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.

Auditor of State record

The county

Lorain County: 15 ZIP codes, 32 cities, villages and townships, 304,042 people.

Nearby places

Eaton Township, Lorain County Grafton Township, Lorain County Carlisle Township, Lorain County Lagrange Township, Lorain County Penfield Township, Lorain County

Rain and snow

How much has actually fallen on Grafton, day by day, from 1893 to now. Daily totals, not averages.

rain, last 30 days
2.38 in
2026-09-30 to 2026-10-29
rain so far in 2026
35.6 in
about normal for the date
snow so far in 2026
35.2 in
a normal year brings 48.1 in
a normal year
40.3 in
average of 30 years, 1991-2020
The last twelve months
MonthRain (in)Snow (in)Days counted
October 2026 2.38 — 29
September 2026 3.42 — 30
August 2026 5.90 — 31
July 2026 2.96 — 31
June 2026 3.50 — 30
May 2026 4.70 — 31
April 2026 6.68 0.0 30
March 2026 3.54 0.8 31
February 2026 0.62 7.2 28
January 2026 1.95 27.1 31
December 2025 2.35 12.4 31
November 2025 1.81 3.2 30
On the record, 1893–2026
Wettest year2011 — 60.5 in
Driest year1963 — 17.8 in
Snowiest year1910 — 82.9 in
Wettest day on record7 September 1996 — 4.49 in
Heaviest snowfall in a day9 November 1913 — 15.02 in
Deepest snow on the ground9 November 1913 — 22.01 in

Estimated, not measured. No rain gauge has ever stood inside Grafton, so every figure here is worked out from the gauges around it - the nearest ones weighted most. Treat them as close estimates rather than readings.

48,542 days of records, 1893-01-01 to 2026-10-29. Source: NOAA NCEI GHCN-Daily, 3,240 gauges in and around Ohio. A day is "gauged" when a gauge standing inside the boundary reported it, and the value is the mean of those gauges. Otherwise it is interpolated by inverse distance from every gauge reporting within 50 miles. Nothing is carried forward, back-filled or smoothed. Against NOAA nClimDiv county monthly precipitation over 136,848 complete county-months (checked 2026-10-31): correlation 0.9515, median absolute difference 0.217 in a month. Built 2026-10-31 from the Cracked Buckeye precipitation archive. Snow is the softer number — snowfall is measured by hand with a ruler, no agency publishes a gridded county snowfall series, and blowing snow defeats every observer.

Environmental permits and filings

What Ohio EPA has on file for Grafton: permits, inspections, violations, cleanups and the state loans behind sewer and water work. Every line links to the agency's own document.

facilities and sites on file
21
those placed on the map inside Grafton
What kind of permits
ProgramFacilities and sites
Hazardous waste5
State water loans5
Air pollution3
State sewer loans3
Wastewater and stormwater discharge2
Public drinking water1
Sewer and water-line construction1
Wetland and stream fill1
The latest filings
DateFacility or siteWhat
NOVAK ROAD PHASE 3 IMPROVEMENTS Wastewater and stormwater discharge permit
VILLAGE OF GRAFTON Wastewater and stormwater discharge permit
GRAFTON VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water inspection
GRAFTON YOUTH JUSTICE CENTER Wetland and stream fill permit
GRAFTON VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water compliance letter
GRAFTON WWTP State sewer loans
GRAFTON YOUTH JUSTICE CENTER Wetland and stream fill permit
GRAFTON YOUTH JUSTICE CENTER Wetland and stream fill permit
FOX RUN PHASE 9 Sewer and water-line construction permit
FOX RUN PHASE 9 Sewer and water-line construction permit
GRAFTON YOUTH JUSTICE CENTER Wastewater and stormwater discharge permit
GRAFTON VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water notice of violation
GRAFTON VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water inspection
GRAFTON VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water report
GRAFTON VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water plan
GRAFTON YOUTH JUSTICE CENTER Wastewater and stormwater discharge permit
FOX RUN PHASE 9 Sewer and water-line construction permit
GRAFTON WWTP State sewer loans
GRAFTON WWTP State sewer loans
GRAFTON WWTP State sewer loans
GRAFTON VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water plan
GRAFTON VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water compliance letter
GRAFTON WWTP State sewer loans
GRAFTON VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water letter
GRAFTON VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water inspection

Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.

Quick answers

What county is Grafton, Ohio in?

Grafton is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, with 5,895 residents.

When was Grafton, Ohio founded?

Grafton was settled Fall 1816 (township; Ingersoll family); laid out 1846 (per Wikipedia); incorporated 1 January 1877 (per Wikipedia; the 1916 county history gives 1882). Source

How did Grafton, Ohio get its name?

Grafton is the township's name (given by the Medina County commissioners in 1818); the village was called Rawsonville from May 1852, apparently for the Rawson family of early settlers (Jonathan and Grindell Rawson are named in the 1879 history), until the Grafton name was restored at incorporation. Source

What ZIP code is Grafton, Ohio?

Most of Grafton is in ZIP code 44044.

Where does Grafton, Ohio get its water?

The main water source for Grafton (Rural Lorain Co. Water A): Lake Erie, drawn through two separate offshore intakes serving the Lake Road filtration plant.

Cite this page as:

Cracked Buckeye, "Grafton, Lorain County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/grafton/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].

How to cite · Report a correction · Built 2026-10-31