 The city may have been named for John Grafton, a civil engineer of the B&O.Alternatively, railroad crews may have referred to the town as "Graftin" because it was the point at which a number of branch railroad lines met (grafted to) the railroad's mainline.Due to the importance of the B&O and Northwestern Virginia Railroads for the movement of troops and supplies, Grafton became an early strategic target during the Civil War; both sides tried to control it.