Grange History

A Brief History

The Grange was formed on December 4, 1867. It was originally founded on the teachings of agriculture and was the first organization to give women an equal vote with men (in 1867).
New Hampshire’s first Grange was organized in Exeter in 1873. There are Granges all across the state.
 

The legacy of the Grange affects your everyday life. Over the last century the Grange has lobbied local, state, and federal government agencies for issues important to communities and individuals.
The results of these activities have noticeably impacted the American experience from the youngest child to the largest corporation.

Granges were the warehouse-buying clubs of the nineteenth century. Their influence grew into a nonpartisan political lobby that worked to create laws now known as Granger Laws that are still important in anti-trust litigations today.
The Grange is credited for the Rural Free Delivery program of the United States Post Office. Grangers consider education important to the advancement of society and created local libraries to store and share books. Many of these early libraries have become the community public libraries of today.

In New Hampshire, the Grange was active in lobbying for a State Police Force. Agricultural Stations established by New Hampshire Granges evolved into what is today the University System of New Hampshire. Before cars, telephones, running water, or even electricity, Grangers were fighting for the rights of rural citizens.