In the latter 1800s and early 1900s, Graysville was called Gin Town because it had the only cotton gin for miles around, and the town and community grew as people came to use it. As the community expanded, businesses and houses of worship were needed, and in the early 1900s the Union Church was established one street from this site as the only church for miles around, where people of all denominations met and worshipped. Graysville was incorporated on November 27, 1945, and the first town council meeting was held at the old school house on January 16, 1946. Later that year, the original city council established the Graysville Water Works system, and in 1949 it established the Graysville Gas Board, which eventually became the Graysville Municipal Gas System. During the 1950s and 1960s, local coal mines and steel mills attracted families from across Alabama, leading Graysville to create its first home developments and subdivisions. During the 1980s and 1990s, the city expanded its limits by annexing multiple acres in what was then unincorporated Jefferson County. With the opening of Interstate 22 and additional commercial growth, Graysville entered a new era of progress.