by Meru S.
You may have been to the annual TVE Harvest Dance that took place just a few weeks ago. You might have even participated in the Knowledge Fair this spring, but have you ever wondered about the history of the building in which these events take place?
This year, on October 25th, the Danville Grange Hall celebrated its 150th anniversary. Many of us TVE members may know the Grange from all of the TVE events that happen there.
The Grange Hall that we see today was opened in 1952, though the story of its past purpose goes back to the late 1860s and the early 1870s, when the Civil War had just ended. On the national level, Oliver Hudson Kelley of Minnesota wanted to start a farmer’s society, in hopes of improving the situation of agriculture across the northern and southern states. As a result of his determined efforts, the National Grange was created in 1868 to support the welfare of farmers. On April 16th of that year, Mr. Kelley founded the Fredonia Grange in New York. It became the first Grange in the country. In 1868, Robert Baldwin from Danville and George McCamly from San Ramon learned about the National Grange and created the California State Grange. The Danville Grange was organized on October 1st, 1873. Throughout the country, farmers would gather at Granges to discuss farming techniques for the benefit of agriculture.
The Danville Grange was the eighty-fifth in California and the third Grange in Contra Costa County. It is now located at 743 Diablo Road in Danville. The original Grange was on the second floor of Danville’s Village Theater at 233 Front Street.
The Grange Hall is now rented for various public and private events, including the monthly Tassajara 4-H club community meetings and, of course, TVE events. The next time you are at the Danville Grange Hall, take a moment to reflect upon its century-and-a-half-old history!
For more information and facts about the Grange, please visit the San Ramon Valley Museum’s website:
To rent the Grange Hall for events, you can call this number: 925-837-5251.
The Lighthouse 