 Because of the residents' efforts, Grafton was given an All-America City Award by the National Civic League in 1962, the smallest city that year to receive the award.Although instrumental to the city's early growth and economy, the railroad inhibited its expansion.In the 1920s smoke abatement experts reported that the combination of high hills, low wind velocity, and frequent railroad traffic, created air quality problems for the city and its business district, which was adjacent to the area of intense railroad activity.