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  Fourth of July parade at the Deer Creek Grange. Circa 1910

Grange Halls in the Siskiyous

Stories from the heart of the Siskiyou Mountains, Cave Junction, Oregon

The word “grange” is not something commonly heard in day-to-day conversations but if you lived in England or France during the middle ages, you would know the word meant granary or barn. Hundreds of years after the middle ages, a new agricultural organization named the Patrons of Husbandry formed in 1867. Within the next few years, the organization became known as the “grange”, perhaps because the meeting halls they built looked like the long, narrow granaries constructed in the middle ages.

The Grange was organized shortly after the American Civil War and was one of the first formal organizations in America to admit women to membership on the basis of equality with men. Boys and girls age 14 years and older were eligible for full membership admitted on equal terms with adults. Each member had one vote.

The primary purpose of the organization was to help small, family owned farms through the hardships faced in the late 1860s when farmers faced numerous problems including swarms of grasshoppers, extravagant railroad shipping rates, expensive farming machinery, high interest, high mortgage rates, and falling prices for the products they produced.

By the mid 1870s membership in the Grange rose rapidly, partly due to the organization’s focus on assisting the farming community but also partly by a general awakening of the farmer that their life style was being threatened by the middleman and the railroads.

One of the accomplishments of the Grange was to pass legislation for free mail delivery to rural farmers. The photo to the right is a mail delivery wagon on the Kerbyville to Holland route in Illinois Valley, Oregon. Many of us in rural area through out the nation enjoy this service today.

It was during this peak of Grange popularity that the first Oregon State Grange was organized in 1873. Two years later, on January 5, 1875, Grange No. 178 was established in Kerbyville. This was Josephine County’s first Grange with the Fort Vannoy Grange, near present day Grants Pass, being established less than a month afterwards.

At the time this Grange was established, Kerbyville was the Josephine County seat and the Illinois Valley was making a transition from a gold rush community to an agricultural community. By the 1870s, most of the gold that attracted miners during Oregon’s gold rush was gone and agriculture was increasingly becoming and important part of the economy in Josephine County.

The Kerbyville Grange probably served as a social center for local farmers but, as with most Granges around the Nation, there was a degree of motivation in this organization to protect the farming life-style from the economic changes taking place around the nation, especially the changes caused by the construction of railroads, which made it possible for produce to be shipped from other regions. Although there was no direct threat of a railroad coming to Kerbyville it was well known that there were plans to construct a railroad from Portland, through Josephine County, to California sometime in the near future. This railroad would later be known as the Oregon & California (O&C) Railroad.

There were good reasons why farmers and business owners in Illinois Valley might be concerned about the O&C Railroad. In the 1870s, Kerbyville was on the main supply route for southwest Oregon, a road that extended from the port town of Crescent City to Jacksonville. Illinois Valley residents must have been aware that once a railroad was constructed, there would no longer be a need for shipping supplies over the mountains from the coast. For the farmers, this meant a transition from being located on the main supply route for southwest Oregon to a future of needing to transport their crops by wagon to the nearest railroad station to market their goods.

Although it was not the intention of the Grange to “wage war” with the railroads, the organization’s theme of equal opportunity and condemning exorbitant profits taken by middlemen eventually lead to the establishment of Grange-sponsored cooperatives to reduce the cost of purchasing supplies and shipping produce. It is uncertain if the Kerbyville Grange followed this trend by creating a cooperative in Illinois Valley.

Granges throughout the nation experienced a decline in membership from the late 1880s through the 1890s. The Kerbyville Grange appeared reflect the national trend and experienced a period of inactivity during the 1890s.

The beginning of the 1900’s was a year of rebirth for Granges around the nation. The Kerbyville Grange, which for all practical purposes had disbanded during the 1890s, experienced its own rebirth in 1907 when it reorganized at the community of Bridgeview. The Kerbyville Grange was renamed the Illinois Valley Grange, #370 (left).

It is interesting that around the same time the Grange reorganized, several one room school houses were constructed in Illinois Valley. One of these was the Spence School constructed around 1910 a few hundred feet from the Bridgeview Grange hall. The explanation for why this surge in education and community activity is uncertain but it is noteworthy that the Progressive Movement also started around this time.

The Grange experienced another nation-wide surge in popularity during the 1930s and 1940s and this appears to be reflected in local Grange activity as well. For example, the Illinois Valley Grange experienced a period of inactivity in the late 1920s and went dormant in 1927. In 1930, interest in the organization increased and the Illinois Valley Grange reopened.

A similar example of Grange activity during the 1930 surge in popularity was the Rogue Grange of Central Point. In 1934, several Rogue Valley farmers invested $10 each to form a cooperative. This cooperative is still active and continues to operate a large outlet store in Grants Pass; the Grange Coop on Highway 199.

 Illinois Valley Grange

Josephine County’s first Grange, the Kerbyville Grange, which was established in 1875 went dormant in the 1890s and was later reorganized into two separate granges, one located at Bridgeview in 1907 under the new name of Illinois Valley Grange, #370 and the other located in Deer Creek Valley, the Deer Creek Grange #371.

There is no historic documentation explaining why the Kerbyville Grange was spilt and relocated in small and remote communities rather than in the larger community of Kerbyville. One of the reasons may have been due to the region around Bridgeview being one of the more active farming and ranch areas of Illinois Valley. Perhaps more important was the concurrent establishment of the Deer Creek Grange near Dryden (Lake Selmac area). There may have been a decision to put more distance between the two Granges to provide better service to residents and decrease competition between the two Halls for membership.

The financing for construction of the building used by the Illinois Valley Grange was provided by Dr. James Spence, a resident of Bridgeview.  John Green Sowell, a local contractor constructed the building along with his two sons, Jim and Dick Sowell and Wallace Kohler, a resident who lived on Takilma Road about a mile from Bridgeview.

According to records from Ken Phillips of the Illinois Valley Historic Society, construction of the hall was started in 1904 and was completed in 1905. In 1910, Spence sold the building to the Illinois Valley Building Association who then rented it to the Grange. Ruth Pfefferle, a local historian, wrote about the Grange in an article printed in the Illinois Valley News on November 10, 1983. In this article, she referred to the Grange building as Spence Hall, a name probably adopted by local residents in recognition of the buildings former owner, Dr. Spence. In 1931 the building was purchased by the Grange for $600 from the Illinois Valley Building Association.

Constructing a building of that size was not as easy as if it were built today. There were no power tools and electricity did not come to Illinois Valley until after 1931, many years after Spence Hall was finished. Everything was constructed using hand tools.

The building was originally a two-story structure (see left) and dances were frequently held on the first floor. When midnight came, the dance would stop and everyone would go upstairs for supper. The price of supper was included in the cost of the ticket. It is interesting that John Green Sowell and Wallace Kohler, two of the people who built the building, often played their violins for the dances.

The second story of the Grange was removed in 1957 because, according to a quote from Wallace Kohler in Pfefferle’s 1983 article, they had constructed the building incorrectly.

In the very earliest years of the Illinois Valley Grange, school was held in the Spence Hall until 1912 when the Spence School was finished. When the school opened there were 16 students and nine grades.

The earliest years of the Illinois Valley Grange were also the days of the horse and buggy. It took a great deal of time and effort for farmers to travel to the Grange and after arriving they stayed for several hours. Almost everyone would come because social gatherings in the farming community were far and few between. Social activities included such things as basket socials and school entertainments.

Popularity of the Grange waned in the 1920s and in 1927 the Illinois Valley Grange went dormant. In the early 1930s, the popularity of Granges increased nationally and this trend appeared to influence the reorganization of the Illinois Valley Grange in November 1930. It is interesting that when the Illinois Valley Grange reopened, the new Master was Ashby Fulk, a local resident who had attended school in the Grange building when it was used as a school in the early 1900s. The new members of the reorganized Grange began the tradition of starting meetings with a potluck dinner, a popular custom it still follows. They also showed movies and the purchasing of a screen was financed through advertising, which was hand painted around the screen. Both the Illinois Valley and Deer Creek Granges have these screens that were painted and installed around 1940 (photo above).

In the early part of the 1950s, the Illinois Valley Grange set up a cooperative grocery and supply store in the old Josephine County Road Department, a building constructed in the 1930s. Road maintenance was dispatched from this facility until the late 1940’s when County maintenance operations were moved to Kerby. The old county road building, the white building located immediately east of the Grange building, is currently used by the Lions Club for storage of wheelchairs and other equipment it loans out at no charge to those who cannot afford to purchase these items.

The Illinois Valley Grange continues to be active and provides a variety of community services such as a Community Food Bank, serving on the Medical Center Board, participation in the B.O.O.K. Project, and teaching courses on canning and restaurant skills. They also support 4H, sponsor men’s and women’s baseball and provide a place for dinners, tool sales, and meetings. They carry on the tradition started in the 1860s of providing community service and equal opportunity.  

Deer Creek Grange

The Deer Creek Grange is located east of Lake Selmac near the Deer Creek Cemetery and community of Dryden. The first efforts to establish this Grange began in 1906 but the charter was not received until October of 1907, the day after the charter was received for the Illinois Valley Grange. For this reason, the Illinois Valley Grange is #370 and the Deer Creek Grange is #371. The first meetings of the Deer Creek Grange were held in the old Central School before the meeting hall was built in 1909.

Unlike the Illinois Valley Grange, which was constructed by a contractor, the Deer Creek Grange was constructed by the members, all of which was done with hand tools. The workers were more than willing to do the work but the skills in construction may not have been what it should have been. This may have been why an addition to the structure had a list to one side and led to the assumption that it had been built that way to hold up the main building.

Water for the Deer Creek Grange was provided by a pipe that had been hammered into the ground for the well. Across the road from the Grange Hall there was a spring, tables and room for visitors to camp and a big barn with plenty of hay for the horses. 

Interviews of former members were conducted for a 1980s newspaper article and included an interview with Myrtle Larson who had been initiated into the grange at age of 11. She was 91 years of age when interviewed.

Myrtle and others recalled the early days of the Deer Creek Grange of families coming by horse and buggies from miles around. They put the horses and buggies in the barn next to the Grange, and the older children were allowed to play there. The younger ones and the babies often were wrapped in blankets, and slept on the floor, under the benches during the meetings.

All of the Granges in Josephine County are grouped into a county-level cluster called a Pomona. All of the Pomona organizations are grouped together to make up the State Grange and all of the State Granges are grouped to form the National Grange.

A Pomona is not located at any particular location. A Pomona meeting may be held at one Grange with the next meeting held at a different Grange. Members of the various Granges travel to the host Grange to attend the Pomona meetings. This meant that some members would have to travel long distances, often on horseback or by buggy. In winter, the roads were muddy and in summer very dusty so the horses had to go slow. It was particularly difficult to get up Hays Hill or to go down when returning to their homes.

When a Pomona was held at the Deer Creek Grange, those coming to the all-day Saturday sessions often left their homes on Friday morning. The members coming from Merlin, Hugo or Williams would meet at Wilderville and rode together the rest of the way. On Saturday morning, the session was a business meeting with lunch provided for all at noon. The afternoon session included discussions, proposals and information with men from the agricultural college assisting. Further business would be conducted during the evening session, followed by a social time, sometimes dances that lasted all night with a huge breakfast in the morning. Meetings were like a family reunion, with aunts and uncles, and grand parents reminiscing about something that great-grandmother had done.

The Deer Creek Grange often organized dances to raise money and, since there was no money to hire a band, they organized their own band. Some fund raisers included a beauty contest such as the one seen to the left where the men added some humor to the contest by dressing up as women. People came from all around and brought their children with them. They also brought blankets so when the children got tired they wrapped them up and let them sleep. Some people who were children in those days remember being wrapped in a blanket and laid in the cloak closet to sleep while their parents were enjoying the meeting. They also remember there were no electric lights and the coal oil lamps did not make any light in the cloak rooms. When people came after their coats the kids were sometimes stepped on. Sometime later a platform was built in the Deer Creek Grange and the children were put up there to sleep while the men played cards underneath the platform.

Fourth of July at Deer Creek Grange, circa 1910. A float is seen to the left and a parade with Uncle Sam leading the group is seen on the right. 

The Fourth of July celebrations are remembered as gala events. Many businessmen brought their families from Grants Pass and other areas. There were bandstands put up and platforms for the prominent men who gave patriotic speeches while the crowd gathered around to listen. Small fireworks were allowed in given areas but the children had to be very careful not to start a fire. There were stands where homemade ice cream could be bought.

Movies were sometimes shown at the Grange and a special screen was made, which is still hanging in the building above the stage. This canvas curtain had advertising for local merchants which was hand painted by an Illinois Valley artist around 1942 (right).

The Deer Creek Grange sits in an open field on Lake Shore Drive about a mile past Lake Selmac. Around it are sweeping vistas of the surrounding mountains perhaps looking much the same as they did when farmers traveled by horse and buggy to attend meetings and other community events at the hall. It is one of those places where you can almost hear the sounds of children playing, people talking and old timers telling stories; the sounds of a time when the community was like one big family.

Story  by Roger Brandt

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