Local grange named to National Register of Historic Places

The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources has announced that the Lower Intervale Grange #321 in Plymouth has been honored by the United States Secretary of the Interior with placement on the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural integrity as well as for its association with the national Grange movement.

Lower Intervale Grange’s design and layout have changed little since it was built in 1912. Its modest exterior details – including a gable roof and clapboards trimmed with corner boards – are often seen in New England Grange buildings.

Located on the Daniel Webster Highway south of downtown Plymouth, N.H., the building is one and a half stories from the main entrance and has a story below street level that is accessible from the back.

A front porch, flanked by windows, has a distinctive shed roof with a front gable. Rebuilt in 2021, the new porch is based on the design of the original and reuses decorative flat sawn balusters as well as restored corner posts with ornamental turnings and scrolled sawn brackets.

The building features two cornerstones, one of which is engraved with “1912” and the other with “L.I.G.” for “Lower Intervale Grange.” In an effort to lower construction debt, anyone wishing to have their name written on a piece of paper and put in one of the corner stones was able do so for ten cents.

The Lower Intervale Grange’s interior design separates social and ritual spaces, as was required by the national Grange organization in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. 

The main level includes a meeting room, a bathroom and an anteroom that was used to control access to the meeting hall; when used for official meetings, only members were allowed into the hall, where they would sit located according to their rank or degree.

The lower level was the social area for both Grange and non-Grange activities, with spaces designated as a dining room, kitchen and furnace room.

Finishing details on the main level are typical of New Hampshire Grange buildings from the era, including beadboard walls, wood floors and tin ceilings. Walls in all rooms of the main level are topped with a deep metal frieze that features large swags located above a metal molding with both foliage and bead-and-reel designs that are notable for their ornateness.

Commonly called “the Grange,” the Patrons of Husbandry was founded in 1867 and from the beginning was open to both men and women as well as to children over the age of 14. The Grange focused on promoting and improving agricultural practices and associated trades while fostering a stronger cooperative spirit among its members. These efforts were particularly successful in New England, where farmers’ clubs and associations had begun as early as the late 18th century.

New Hampshire’s first Grange was established in 1873 and by 1900 the state had one of the four largest Grange organizations in the country. By 1892, New Hampshire had 9,780 Grange members; that number more than doubled to 19,116 by 1897.

During its first year of use alone, the Lower Intervale Grange hosted meetings – sometimes with a supper – as well as programs with recitations and music, a maple sugar party, three locally produced plays, a lecture on native birds, a harvest fair, holiday parties, meetings of the local women’s club the Neighborhood Society and more. 

Members of the Lower Intervale Grange sold the building in 2020. It has since been rehabilitated for residential and event use.

Administered by the National Park Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official list of historic resources worthy of preservation and is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate and protect our historic and archaeological resources.

Listing to the National Register does not impose any new or additional restrictions or limitations on the use of private or non-federal properties. Listings identify historically significant properties and can serve as educational tools and increase heritage tourism opportunities. The rehabilitation of National Register-listed commercial or industrial buildings may qualify for certain federal tax provisions.

In New Hampshire, listing to the National Register makes applicable property owners eligible for grants such as the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program or LCHIP (lchip.org) and the Conservation License Plate Program (nhdhr.dncr.nh.gov/grants-incentives/conservation-license-plate-grant-program).

For more information on the National Register program in New Hampshire, please visit nhdhr.dncr.nh.gov or contact the Division of Historical Resources at 603-271-3583. 

New Hampshire's Division of Historical Resources, the State Historic Preservation Office, was established in 1974 and is part of the N.H. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. NHDHR’s mission is to preserve and celebrate New Hampshire’s irreplaceable historic resources through programs and services that provide education, stewardship, and protection. For more information, visit us online at nhdhr.dncr.nh.gov or by calling 603-271-3483.

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