1910
Founding (1867–1873) The commissioner of the
Department of Agriculture commissioned
Oliver Kelley, after a personal interview with President
Andrew Johnson, to go to the Southern states and to collect data to improve Southern agricultural conditions. In the South, poor farmers bore the brunt of the Civil War and were suspicious of Northerners like Kelley. Southern Farms lacked the
enslaved labor on which they were dependent during the
Antebellum period, had little railroad access to sell their goods, thus suffering low productivity rates after the Civil War. Kelley found he was able to overcome these worries and speak to their issues as a
Mason. With Southern Masons as guides, he toured the war-torn countryside in the South and was appalled by the outdated farming practices. In the western states, Kelley deplored the lack of "progressive agriculture", with illiterate "ignorant" farmers who were "using a system of farming [that] was the same as that handed down by generations gone by". He saw the need for an organization that would bring people together from across the country in a spirit of mutual cooperation. After many letters and consultations with the other founders, the Grange was born. The first Grange, Grange #1, was founded in April 1868 in
Fredonia,
New York. Seven men and one woman co-founded the Grange:
Oliver Hudson Kelley,
William Saunders,
Francis M. McDowell,
John Trimble,
Aaron B. Grosh,
John R. Thompson,
William M. Ireland, and
Caroline Hall. In 1873 the organization was united under a National Grange in Washington, D.C. The movement also spread north to Canada, and for a time the
Dominion Grange flourished there.
National growth, cooperatives, and political lobbying (1870s) Paid agents organized local "subordinate" Granges and membership in the Grange increased dramatically, reaching 180 chapters in 1871, three quarters of which were founded in
Minnesota and
Iowa. In 1873, membership rates stood at 200,000, growing to 858,050 in 1875, fueled by the
Panic of 1873 and growing discontent with
Gilded Age wealth inequality. In its drive to recruit conservative Southern farmers, the Grange openly refused to ally with the
Knights of Labor, the largest labor union of the 1870s and ‘80s. Midwestern Grangers pursued mass recruitment strategies, with some farmers setting up dozens of subordinates per year on their own. Many state and local granges adopted non-partisan political resolutions, especially regarding the regulation of railroad transportation costs. Although Grange matters were not supposed to be political or religious, many Grangers were
Protestant and involved in local politics. After the Civil War, radical
Republican-led
Louisiana was the only state Grange to allow admittance of members regardless of race. Some Granges tried to incorporate Black farmers into "Councils of Laborers” in order to coerce them to be farmhands. Rapid growth infused the national organization with money from dues. Many local granges established
consumers' co-operatives, initially supplied by the wholesaler
Aaron Montgomery Ward. The peak of the cooperative movement was in 1877, when 30,000 mill, elevator, and warehouse co-ops were in operation nationwide. Cooperatives sometimes bought commodities and insurance for members at the
Pomona level, and even sold products including dairy straight to
creameries and cheese factories. Many cooperatives were organized around
Rochdale principles, sharing co-op profits with shareholders at the end of the year, and maintaining political and religious neutrality. The Granger movement supported efforts by politicians to regulate rates charged by the railroads and grain warehouses. Granges were most popular in areas of early railroad construction that lacked competition. Because railroads were short and monopolized, companies could easily charge farmers more in shipping costs, leading farmers to call for regulation. The Grange claimed credit for the ideas of the
Cooperative Extension Service,
Rural Free Delivery, and the
Farm Credit System. The peak of their political reputation was marked by the Supreme Court decision in
Munn v. Illinois (1877), which held that grain warehouses were a "private utility in the
public interest," and so could be regulated by public law. However this achievement was overturned later by the Supreme Court in
Wabash v. Illinois (1886). The Grange also endorsed the
temperance cause to avoid alcohol, the
direct election of Senators and
women's suffrage.
Decline in membership and organizational difficulties (1880s–1900s) Poor fiscal management, combined with organizational difficulties resulting from rapid growth, led to a massive decline in membership in the late 19th century. Former slave states lost membership quickly after people stopped paying dues, with only Mississippi, Texas, and Missouri represented in the National Grange by 1877. Southern farmers were isolated and had varying needs and interests; the Rochdale method proved unsuccessful in uniting them. The Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas Grange movements fell apart by 1890, 1891, and 1905, respectively. By the end of the 19th century, no Granges from former Southern states were represented in the National Grange. By the 1880s, most Grange elevator co-ops had ceased operation, due to incompetent and inexperienced management, a lack of capital, and
embezzlement scandals. Downturn in membership may have also been caused by political and religious activities by the Grange, which divided membership. While the Grange was officially
apolitical, Grangers were involved in several political movements in the
Midwestern United States in the late 19th century, such as the
Reform Party of Wisconsin.
German,
Scandinavian, and
Baptist churches criticized the Grange and sometimes
excommunicated Grangers during this period.
Rebound of membership and stabilization At the turn of the 20th century, the Grange rebounded and membership stabilized.
Second decline in membership (1990s–2010s) Grange membership declined considerably as the percentage of people in the USA who were farmers fell from a third of the population in the early 20th century to fewer than two percent today. Between 1992 and 2007, the number of Grange members fell by 40%, largely due to the National Grange no longer offering insurance for its members.
Washington has the largest membership of any state, at approximately 13,000. In 2022, the National Grange reported a net gain in membership for the first time in almost seven decades.
21st century (2010s–present) in
Slatersville, Rhode Island, now a community center belonging to the North Smithfield Heritage Association. , the Grange continues to press for the causes of farmers, including issues of
free trade and farm policy. In its 2006
Journal of Proceedings, the organization's report on its annual convention, the organization lays out its mission and how it works towards achieving it through fellowship, service, and legislation: In February 2024, the National Grange revised their Mission Statement: As a non-partisan organization, the Grange supports only policies, never political parties or candidates. Although the Grange was founded to serve the interests of farmers, because of the shrinking farm population the Grange has begun to broaden its range to include a wide variety of issues, and anyone is welcome to join the Grange. The Junior Grange is open to children 5–14. Regular Grange membership is open to anyone age 14 or older. The Grange Youth, a group within the Grange, consists of members 13 1/2 to 30. In 2013, the Grange signed on to a letter to Congress calling for the doubling of legal immigration and legalization for
undocumented immigrants currently in the United States. However, this position has been somewhat revised, and the Grange now emphasizes an expansion in the
H-2A visa program to increase legal immigration and address the crisis-level labor shortage in agriculture. They support the enforcement of immigration law but urge discretion with regard to the impact on labor availability. ==Rituals and ceremonies==