Situated a few miles north of Cambridge on Highway 65 is the small village of Grandy. Like the communities of Isanti, Stanchfield and Braham, it owes its existence in large part to the Eastern Minnesota Railway Company that built a railroad through Isanti County in 1889.

Grandy was originally called Manila, and there seems to be no clear explanation as to why the name was changed to Grandy. Some say that the town was renamed for the Grants who were living in the area, and others say that the name "Manila" was too closely linked to the Philippine Island city that had recently figured in the Spanish-American War. Whatever the reason, "Grandy" became the official name shortly after the turn of the century.

The town grew rapidly to include a hotel, restaurant, tavern, mercantile, grocery store, post office and creamery, all on one side of the highway. Across the highway along the railroad tracks were the potato warehouses and the depot.

Salesmen traveling by train stopped in Grandy, displayed their wares for the various merchants, stayed in the Tourist Hotel and moved on to the next town the following day. Grandy was also home to the Dahlman potato picker manufacturing business when Eben Dahlman moved the operation from his farm east of Grandy.

Trains no longer stop in Grandy, and the retail businesses that once served the surrounding are long gone. Even the post office serves only the residents of the immediate community. But Grandy still attracts a number of folks because of some  businesses that have adapted to the changing times.