Exhibit 31.1

                      CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER CERTIFICATION
                 PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350, AS ADOPTED
          PURSUANT TO SECTION 302(a) OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, John A. Forlines, Jr., certify that:

1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Bank of Granite
Corporation;

2. Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make
the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements
were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this quarterly
report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
information included in this quarterly report, fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the
registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this quarterly report;

4. The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for
establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a - 15(e) and 15d - 15(e)) for the registrant and we have:

     a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures or caused such
     disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to
     ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its
     consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
     entities, particularly during the period in which this quarterly report is
     being prepared;

     b) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and
     procedures and presented in this quarterly report our conclusions about the
     effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of
     the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

     c) disclosed in this quarterly report any changes in the registrant's
     internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the
     registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant' s fourth fiscal
     quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or
     is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal
     control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on our
most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the
registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of
directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

     a) all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal
     control over financial reporting, which are reasonably likely to adversely
     affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report
     financial information; and

     b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
     employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal control
     over financial reporting.

Date: November 13, 2003                               /s/ John A. Forlines, Jr.

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                                                      John A. Forlines, Jr.
                                                      Chairman and
                                                      Chief Executive Officer

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