Editing Grafton, Illinois (section)

==History==
Founded in 1832 by James Mason, Grafton is the oldest city in [[Jersey County]]. Described as having "a post office, one store, one tavern, and a number of families" in 1834, the area was being settled as early as 1812 when a [[blockhouse]] was built at the confluence for protection.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} The city was named after Mason's birthplace of [[Grafton, Massachusetts]]. Grafton was incorporated on May 16, 1907.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.city-data.com/city/Grafton-Illinois.html|title= Grafton, Illinois |publisher= City-Data.com |access-date=August 31, 2012}}</ref>

Grafton's population reached its peak at approximately 10,000 in the 1850s with employment opportunities coming from the local stone quarries, boat building and commercial fishing. At one point, there were five quarries in or around Grafton that employed nearly 2,000 men. The local limestone was used to build the [[Eads Bridge]] in [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], government buildings in [[Rock Island, Illinois|Rock Island]], and the [[Jersey County Courthouse]] in [[Jerseyville, Illinois|Jerseyville]]. The Shafer's Wharf Historic District was one of the largest commercial fishing centers along the [[Mississippi River]] in the late 19th century. The Old Boatworks, located south of Main Street, once housed a paint house and a machine shop where paddle wheelers and later [[PT boat]]s were built. Today, the Old Boatworks building hosts many antique and craft stalls and is open on the fourth weekend of each month from May through October.<ref name="GFNAug07">[http://www.greatriverroad.com/Cities/Grafton/graftonCover.htm Grafton description & history] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070823225229/http://www.greatriverroad.com/Cities/Grafton/graftonCover.htm |date=2007-08-23 }}, retrieved August 24, 2007</ref>

The [[Great Flood of 1993]] caused significant damage to many of Grafton's structures, and a third of the city's residents moved away. The effects of the flood are still evident and the city's population has not recovered.