George" and "Lame George," the distinction was just as clear as was the name of "Tommy J."
      The Welsh influence has no doubt been felt in the matter of music, although from the very first the Granville Settlers gave much attention to singing as well as to instrumental music. A band was organized at an early day, one of the first west of the Alleghenies. At least two of the instruments are still preserved, as is the memory of the humiliation which came when the band was at Detroit in the War of 1812, and was surrendered by Hull. On another famous occasion the Granville band furnished music. It was then Governor Clinton of New York turned the first spade of earth for the Ohio Canal, whose famous "deep cut" is not many miles from Granville. Instruction in music has been a feature of the educational work of the community for seventy years of more. The Welsh are noted for their singing, and in this respect the two elements of the population have been harmonious.
      The most important factor in Granville's history it education. Now and then stories are told of surprising commercial interests of early days, of fortunes made in wool-buying, of plough factories, gristmills, tanneries, potash works and foundries. Pride is felt in traditions of various banks, which issued paper money and had their bills quoted with the usual or unusual discounts in the "Merchants' Ready Reckoner and Bank-note Detector" and similar safety devices for business men. A barn is pointed out, which once was part of the great warehouse. A long disused pulley is shown, which once helped to haul bags of wool to the third story for keeping until the time for sale came. A once pretentious structure was the clock factory. But Granville never was and never will be a business centre. The fertile farms surrounding it have furnished the substantial element of life, and the educational interests have taken the place of commerce and manufactures.
      The first college to be founded was what is now known as Denison University. In May, 1831, when the Ohio Baptist Education Society was contemplating the establishment of a college, the offer by citizens of Granville of a farm valued at $3,400 determined the location. The sum was small as an endowment; but the character of the community stood in the stead of other assets, and "The Granville Literary and Theological Institution" was the result. Designed as a manual labor school, as were many of the western colleges in early days, it later changes its name to "Granville College," and yet again, having moved from the farm to a site within the village, it became "Denison University," this misleading name being given because of a donation of $10,000 by a generous Baptist. Theological instruction offered for several years justified in some measure the use of the word "university," and when the work of the institution was limited to first class college lines, legal difficulties prevented a return to the original "college" designation. The attendance upon the institution never reached a very large number, but its standard of scholarship has always been high and its instruction thorough. Its graduates have given good account of themselves, notable in the professions of the ministry and of teaching. Its best-known alumni are lawyers, including the late Hon. George L. Converse, an Ohio member of Congress and a prominent friend of the wool-growers; Hon. Milton I. Southard of New York, also an ex-member of Congress from Ohio: Hon. George R. Sage, for many years a United States judge for the southern district of Ohio, and Hon. Judson Harmon, Attorney-General of the United States under President Cleveland. But these gentlemen who have made a success at the law are exceptions, for the profession of law had not attracted many of the graduates, who have rather turned to teaching or to preaching. Every Granville student

— page 115 —


These pages are © Laurel O'Donnell, 2000 - 2005, all rights reserved
Copying these pages without written permission for the purpose of republishing
in print or electronic format is strictly forbidden
This page was last updated on 22 Jul 2005