Grinnell is a city in Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,218 at the 2010 census.HistoryGrinnell was founded as a "Yankee" settlement, that is to say it was founded and originally settled by settlers from New England who were descended from the English Puritans who settled New England in the 1600s. Grinnell was founded in 1854 by Josiah B. Grinnell a Congregationalist from Vermont. The city was originally slated to be named "Stella," but J.B. Grinnell convinced other members of the colony to adopt his own name for the city, citing it as a rare and concise name. Grinnell was incorporated on April 28, 1865, and by 1880 Grinnell had a population of around 2000. Located at the junction of two railway lines, it became and remains the largest community in Poweshiek County.Grinnell was a stop on the Underground Railroad. One of the most famous events occurred in February 1859, when John Brown, a strong abolitionist, and 12 slaves he was helping escape to freedom, were hosted by J.B. Grinnell and several other community residents. Because of J.B.'s efforts to help slaves and end slavery, in 2013 the National Park Service included his gravesite at Hazelwood Cemetery on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom listings.