The history of Grafton is fascinating; you can view many old photos and memorabilia at the small Grafton museum co-located in City Hall on Main Street.  Grafton has numerous old historical buildings, one of them being the Old Boat Works building located on the eastern end of town.  The Old Boat Works once housed a machine shop where local craftsmen built and repaired the old paddle wheel boats and built Torpedo Patrol Boats that were used in the Korean and Vietnam wars.  The Kampsville and Brussels Ferry’s, which were made at the Old Boat Works, are still in use today. Boat building ceased in Grafton in the early 1980’s and today the Old Boat Works building houses the Loading Dock restaurant / bar and Riverside Flea Market where antique and craft lovers can browse through many tables of collectibles every 4th weekend of each month April through October. 

Grafton was a steamboat stop where the old paddle wheel boats would stop for supplies and repairs. You can still see some of the ice houses from those periods that were cut into the bluffs on West Main Street. Grafton was also a large fishing hub, the old foundation of Schaffer’s Warf still stands today next to the marina and was made from Grafton Stone.

Grafton Stone was cut from the quarry where the Grafton Visitors Center is now located and used in many of the homes and businesses in the region. 

Although there is no manufacturing of products in Grafton any more, Grafton is producing good times and good memories for all.