The Maine Grange Project - part 2

Jeff Kirlin and I continue our effort to photograph every Grange Hall in Maine. I drove to Boston last weekend and managed to photograph another dozen or so on the way down and back.

Most Grange Halls have a distinctive architectural design and are easy to spot. They're usually rather simple, barn like structures like the ones below:

Mousam Lake Grange in Shapleigh

Highland Lake Grange in Westbrook

Bauneg Beg Grange in North Berwick

Hollis Grange

However, some Granges are a bit fancier like these:

Pownal Grange (now the Town Office)

Benton Grange

Waterboro Grange

John F. Hill Grange in Eliot

Alas, not all Granges Halls are grand examples of the classic New England meeting house design. Some are much humbler in appearance:

Litchfield Grange

Riverside Grange in Lebanon

Patrons of Husbandry

The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry is a fraternal organization of farmers, by farmers and for farmers that provided for "the intellectual, social and financial improvement of the farmer and his family". Granges provided information on sound farming practices, banded together to lower exorbitant freight rates on railroads, and campaigned for Rural Free Delivery of mail.

The first Grange in Maine was founded in 1873. By the early 1900's there were over 500. Today that number has dwindled to around 150. Jeff Kirlin over at The Thing of the Moment and I have vowed to get photos of all the remaining Granges in Maine this summer! (Right Jeff?).

So without further ado (or explanation) here are 12 Granges:

Readfield Grange

Leeds Grange

Richville Grange

West Baldwin Grange

North Jay Grange

Starling Grange, North Fayette

Sidney Grange

Enterprise Grange, Richmond

Wales Grange

Winthrop Grange

Manchester Grange

Androscoggin Grange, Greene