Granville County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2000, the population was 48,498. Its county seat is Oxford The county was formed in 1746 from Edgecombe County. It was named for John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, who as heir to one of the eight original Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina, claimed one eighth of the land granted in the charter of 1665. The claim was established as consisting of approximately the northern half of North Carolina and this territory came to be known as the Granville District also known as Oxford.

In 1752 parts of Granville County, Bladen County, and Johnston County were combined to form Orange County. In 1764 the eastern part of Granville County became Bute County. Finally, in 1881 parts of Granville County, Franklin County, and Warren County were combined to form Vance County.
There were 16,654 households out of which 33.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.10% were married couples living together, 15.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.70% were non-families. 23.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.90% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 33.30% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 11.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 110.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.30 males.

The Economy of the Country: The median income for a household in the county was $39,965, and the median income for a family was $46,013. Males had a median income of $30,418 versus $24,840 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,118. About 9.00% of families and 11.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.20% of those under age 18 and 14.10% of those age 65 or over.
Granville History Museum..
In 1970, the circa 1860 jail was slated for demolition when a new jail facility was built. Due to the intervention of the Oxford Woman's Club and other individuals, the jail was saved from that fate and for many years was used as a museum/meeting place. Miss Sue Bryan directed this operation until her illness forced the closing of its operation. In 1994, the Granville County Historical Society obtained the lease from the county to operate a museum. The historical "heroes" of the county are interpreted in "light boxes". Topics cover agriculture, education, architecture, industry, jail history and military. Hands-on exhibits are enjoyed especially by the young visitor. Visitors have been delighted with the colorful and educational story of this county's history in the building that originally held inmates Now it imprisons an impressive past!