Granville County

Granville County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 59,916. Its county seat is Oxford.Granville County comprises the Oxford, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Combined Statistical Area.The county includes access to Kerr Lake and Falls Lake and is included in the Roanoke, Tar and Neuse River water basins.HistoryThe 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.