On July 17, 1893, Ellis Tillman (E. T.) and Laura Gravett signed a right-of-way for the Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Gulf Railroad. Land was sold to the Missouri Coal and Construction Company. With E. T. Gravett managing the project, the land was platted for the original town, and papers were filed July 26, 1893. The town of Gravette received its charter on August 9, 1893. No one is sure how or when the town got the extra “e” at the end of its name. The most popular story involves confusion within the postal service and a town with a similar name. Gravette celebrates its founding on “Gravette Day,” the second Saturday in August.

The city bought the historic Kindley house and, with the help of a substantial grant from the Arkansas Department of Historic Preservation, completely renovated the building. It now houses the Gravette Historical Museum, which contains exhibits of Captain Kindley’s life and military service, natural history displays, a photo gallery of graduating classes from Gravette High School extending back to the 1920s, and many items depicting Gravette’s past.

The Gravette Medical Center Hospital was established by Dr. Billy V. Hall in the building that is now Motel 59 on Highway 59. A new ninety-nine-bed hospital facility located in southwest area of Gravette on Irving Street was completed in 1975. The hospital has been a major employer in the city since it opened. A clinic, Gravette Medical Associates (now owned and operated by Mercy Medical), sits on property adjacent to the hospital and has five doctors on staff. Other industries providing employment to the community are R&R Packaging, Hendren Plastics, and Insulbead, Inc., along with the usual supermarkets, restaurants, drug stores, and convenience stores. Gravette also has a landing strip and hangar designed to accommodate small aircraft on the east boundary of the city.