Machias Valley Grange, #360 - Machias, ME - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Machias Valley Grange, #360

The former Machias Valley Grange, #360 is a building which has served the community of Machias for 100 years. Built by members of the Grange in 1907 to serve as their meeting hall, the vernacular building with Queen Anne details and a projecting second story is outfitted with a beautiful second story hall, complete with balcony and stage, and a spacious dining room and convenient kitchen. Its design not only offered the members of the Grange with facilities in which to conduct their meetings and rituals, but made the property valuable as a social and cultural facility for the greater Machias region.

According to existing record books the Machias Valley Grange was organized by 1903. The fraternal association met in the third story hall at the Pennell Block, a mansard roof structure that housed the E.I. White Store on the ground level. On November 15th 1904 the Pennell Block burned to the ground, destroying all of the Grange property.2 The members immediately regrouped, and over the next two years held their meetings in local venues, including the Knights of Pythius Hall, Harman Hall (home of the Ben Hur Lodge) and Walling Hall (home of the Village improvement Society). Shortly after the fire the Grange received its charter as Patrons of Husbandry Grange # 360. (January 5, 1905). As the members discussed obtaining their own building they officially incorporated, which allowed them to fund construction through the sale of stock and donations. In September of 1905 they purchased the lot on which the Pennell Block had stood. According to current Grange members, and supported by evidence in the cellar walls, the Grange utilized the foundations and the footprint of the earlier structure. By November of 1905 construction of their new building was underway.

The building was completed by the end of February, 1907, at which time the organization voted to hold "the dedication of our Hall next Tuesday, March 5th [and] also moved and voted that the Grange invite the architect of our Hall and musicians and any others necessary to the service of dedication." (Grange Record Book, February 26,1907). Sadly, the identity of the architect was not revealed in the brief article in the local paper that covered the dedication the next month, nor is it recorded in the extant Grange records.

As with many of the state's remaining Granges, membership in the Machias Valley Grange dwindled during the last decades of the twentieth century. In 2001 the former Grange building was purchased by an artists' cooperative. While this group worked to restore the building they also cultivated a relationship with the remaining Grange members. Realizing that they shared similar ideals led to many of the artists joining and reinvigorating the Grange. The Grange Hall continues to be used for Grange meetings as well as a venue for dances, open microphone performances, movies and community gatherings.
From the NRHP Nomination Form