By Ruth A. Ringelstetter
When I first began reviewing listings from the National Register of Historic Places and marking them as places to photograph, I was pretty selective. After I marked what I thought would interest us, I passed the list to Joann to review and see if there was anything else I should mark. And when she returned the list with things I had missed, she had marked some things called Granges, or Grange Halls.
The Grange, formally known as the Patrons of Husbandry, was founded in 1867 by Oliver H. Kelley, who was an employee of the Department of Agriculture. Its purpose was to assist farmers with difficulties they faced. Among the problems of the time were swarms of grasshoppers, high railroad fees to ship crops, expensive machinery, high interest and mortgage rates, high cost to store their grain in silos, and falling prices.
We’ve had the best luck finding old Grange Halls in our travels to Ohio, which seems understandable since Ohio was reported to have more than 900 chapters. Not only were the halls places to hold meetings, but they were also a place to hold social activities which included quilting bees, dances and other social gatherings, which helped to alleviate the isolation of farm families.
Some of the granges even bought a few pieces of the more expensive farming equipment that could be shared among members. Our dad was never a “granger”, as members were called, but he never owned a combine. He hired a neighboring farmer who owned one (as many farmers did) to harvest our oats. This helped the farmer making payments on his combine, and allowed dad to not have the expense of his own machine.
In 2016, we hunted up the Scioto Grange No. 1234 in Jackson County, Ohio. It was built in 1897, the same year the Chapter was organized. It’s a simple white frame building, but part of the building served as a store for members from 1907-1937. It also served as a rural school from 1917-1935. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Wisconsin had approximately 50 grange chapters. The chapters in Evansville, Cooksville, Magnolia, Brooklyn, Dayton, and Center banded together to form the Evansville Mercantile Association. In February of 1874, they bought $200 worth of plows and were in business. At first, they rented space, but soon outgrew it. They built a new building, but within a couple of years, outgrew that space as well.
In 1903, they purchased land on West Main Street in Evansville and built a new store. The store was huge for its time and employed 30 people. It had a bank and departments for groceries, eggs and butter, dry goods, boots and shoes, carpets and wallpaper, jewelry, books, crockery, hardware and tin, millinery, coats and suits. Two years later an undertaking business was added and a hearse was acquired.
The Evansville Mercantile Association continued in business for 81 years, when the store was sold to another group of men who operated it until 1980.
Another old building we found in Ohio was identified as a one room school and former grange hall. Most abandoned buildings that we find don’t have available histories, and it’s true of this building. It’s big enough that it may have included a grange store as well, but we probably will never know for sure.
On our most recent trip to Ohio in 2017, we hunted up several more grange halls. One of my favorites was the Sandy Valley Grange No. 1704 shown below. It’s another on our list where we know it was a grange hall, but the last meetings I could find were held in 2012.
The Willow Grove Grange shown below, is still an active chapter holding their meetings in the building as well as providing meeting space for other organizations.
The National Grange headquarters building is in Washington, D.C. and is the only private building in a federal block across from the White House.
With the current state of farming in the country, it’s nice to know that there is still an organization trying to stand up for farmers on a national level.
If you’re walking around any town, don’t forget to look up at the symbols and name plates on buildings. You never know what you might stumble on. Let us know if you find a grange hall!
Happy Shunpiking!
Ruth
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Very interesting information, Ruth. Glad Joann added Grange Halls to your list back then! I think I have seen buildings that say Grange on them but didn't know what that was. And as I was reading your post, I was thinking the same thing that you ended with regarding the state of farming these days!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Phyllis. As I said in my Facebook comment, I learned about the Grange through Little House on the Prairie, but the time frame of that show was in the 1800s. I figured we might find some buildings still standing, but didn't realize the Grange was still an active organization.
Delete'Another piece of rural life that seems to be passing away. Thanks for keeping it alive! There is a 'Grange Avenue' in southwest Milwaukee County near where I grew up. I always wondered where that name came from, and now I have a clue, as it was a farming area until the 1950's.
ReplyDeleteThere are some very historic routes in and around Milwaukee, so there probably was a grange along that route at some point. We always end up taking detours to look for historic architecture when we find roads with names such as Mill Rd, School Rd, Church Rd, etc. Sometimes the building is long gone, but often we find the road's namesake. Let us know if you find a grange there or anywhere else!
DeleteHappy Mother's Day! I knew about the Grange's for a long time. However, I did not know about the Evansville and Brooklyn were in involved in it. We lived in Brooklyn, WI for 19 years before moving up here to the Baraboo Area. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Stephanie! I'm always glad when people learn something from our blog posts. We learn so much before and after we photograph most subjects.
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