Old Grange Hall

One of the oldest buildings in the downtown area may not be apparent at first. If fact you may not even notice it at all. But the old building has seen a lot of changes in our town since it was built.

It was back in late 1870s when local farmers joined together to form a local chapter of the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, or simply The Grange. Local chapters began to be formed all over the Midwest in the late 1860s and many continue their work today. The Grange was a fraternal order of farmers aimed at bettering their lives through social, economic and political goals. By the 1870s their organizations had become widespread and today we can thank The Grange for such improvements as Rural Free Mail Delivery, Cooperative Extension Services and Farm Credit Systems among many others.

The local Grangers leased a parcel of land from Mrs. Alice Reed. The property was at the corner of Scott and Franklin Streets at what is today approximately 602 E. Scott Street. It is interesting to note that at the time this parcel was on the very edge of the town and was surrounded by farmland. After leasing the property, the farmers set about building their Grange Hall on the site. This was a two story building facing Scott Street with a one story extension at the side along Franklin Street. At the time, Franklin Street was a dead end and did not curve around to join Lincoln Street. The area behind the Hall sloped down to a dairy farm where Belknap Street is today and was known as Grange Hill. Sometime in the early 1880s The Grand Ledge Grange either disbanded or merged with another chapter and left their Hall behind.

In 1886, local entrepreneur Peter Blake purchased the building. Blake owned farms in the area and among his business interests ran a Cheese Factory. Blake had just purchased the Riverside Rink downtown and was in the process of converting it into an opera house for local entertainments. Once he acquired “Old Grange Hall”, he removed the single story extension and moved the two story building downtown and placed it on a new foundation adjacent to the back of Blake’s Opera House.

Over the years the first floor was used for storage and the second floor was a residence. In the early 1900’s when Burr Sackett purchased the Opera House, he and his family lived in the upper floor of Grange Hall. Later the area was used for storage until it was remodeled in the 1990 for use by the Chamber of Commerce.

Next time your downtown, take a look at the Old Grange Hall. One of the oldest buildings downtown that still has a lot of life left in it.