In 1805, a group of citizens from Massachusetts and Connecticut braved treacherous travel conditions to settle a new village in the heart of Ohio. Like the Welsh pioneers who arrived in the area a few years earlier, these industrious New Englanders found abundant natural resources to sustain themselves as they erected buildings, planted crops, and platted a town. The result of their hard work was the village of Granville, a beautiful and productive community that continues to adapt and thrive in the 21st century. Downtown Granville has evolved into a popular tourist destination, and Denison University, founded in the 1830s as the Granville Literary and Theological Institution, has become an elite and respected college of liberal arts and sciences.