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The earliest inhabitants of the township were the prehistoric Native Americans known as the Mound Builders. Granger is believed to have even had 2 mounds. Much later, those from the Seneca, Ottawa, Iroquois, or Wyandot tribes came to Granger. They seemed only to have passed through while hunting, but many of their arrowheads have been found by residents.

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Next came hunters, the most colorful of whom was William Coggswell. He recorded many of his hunting adventures involving bears and wildcats.

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Ezekiel Mott was an example of a squatter. He came to Granger in 1816, and built a cabin, although he didn’t really own the land.

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Granger was part of the Connecticut Western Reserve. In 1795 the state sold the area to the Connecticut Land Company, a group of 36 investors. The investors drew lots to see who would own which lots.  Oliver Phelps drew Granger, as well as many other lots in northeastern Ohio. When Phelps died in 1809, he had debts to Gideon Granger. To settle the debts, his land holdings were transferred to Gideon.

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In 1817 Gideon Granger sold the northwest part of the township to Henry Remsen, and the remainder to Anthony Low, Elizur Hills, James Ganyard, and Burt Codding, all of the Canandaigua area of New York. The Hills, Lows, Ganyards, and Coddings brought their families to settle Granger, and sold parcels to other settlers as well. The area owned by Remsen was held in trust for his daughter’s children, so it was not settled until 1845.

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In 1820 Granger officially became a township, and the name Granger was chosen by vote as an honor to Gideon Granger, the previous owner, a legislator in Connecticut, and also Postmaster General under Jefferson. A few months later, Granger held its first election. The first town hall was built in the early 1820s. Other work accomplished by the early settlers included clearing the virgin timber, preparing farm fields, and building homes, roads, schools, churches, and businesses.

 

From these beginnings, Granger grew to be the township we love today.