GRAY, a town of eastern France, capital of an arrondisse ment in the department of Haute-Saone, situated on the bank of the Saone, 36 m. W.S.W. of Vesoul by rail. Pop. 5,577. Gray was founded in the 7th century. Its fortifications were de stroyed by Louis XIV. It gave its name to the distinguished English family of de Gray, Gray or Grey, mentioned in Domesday as tenants in Oxfordshire.
The town has a busy port. Three bridges, unite it to the rail way-station from which lines branch off to Auxonne, Dijon, Besan con and Culmont-Chalindrey. The principal buildings are the Gothic church, restored in the style of the Renaissance with a modern portal, and the hotel de ville, built by the Spaniards in 1568. Gray is the seat of a sub-prefect and has tribunals of first instance and of commerce, a chamber of commerce and a small museum. It has large flour-mills and manufactures machinery and iron goods. There is also a considerable transit traffic in goods mainly by river from the south of France and the colonies, and trade in iron, corn, provisions, vegetables, wine, wood, etc.