RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - On Saturday, April 20th, an open house was held that welcomed people of all ages to honor the 150th anniversary of Rancho Cordova’s American River Grange #172. This rare icon of Rancho Cordova’s past, present, and future is the oldest of the three remaining Granges in Sacramento County, and one of the oldest on the west coast. The free celebration included fun historic kid activities, bingo, cookie walk, snow cones and hot dogs.

 Three-year-old Stevie Jean tries to rope a steer.

The history of the American River Grange is intricately tied to the history of the Kilgore Cemetery. The Cemetery Association was established March 24, 1888.  The original families who bought the plots were members of the board of directors and signed some of the plot purchase receipts.  Names included Joseph Studarus, W. H. Criswell, and Nels H. Lauridson. They also served as secretary and recorded the business transactions of the cemetery in meticulous logbooks.

These local families, including the Manlove, Deterding, Kilgore, Cornell, Biggs, Yost, and Horn families, had organized the American River Grange #172. Forming on March 23, 1874, they met at H. F. W. Deterding’s 15 Mile House, the second stop of the Pony Express on its route east to St. Joseph, Missouri. After meeting upstairs in the 15 Mile House for several years, the members pooled their resources and their labor, constructing the present-day two- story building on Kilgore Road, of redwood and handmade square nails. 

Since the building’s dedication October 26, 1882, the Grange has always been supported by those same founding families.  These families have worked to take care of both properties, using the Grange Hall for picnics after Cemetery clean up days, and serving as officers of both the Grange and the Cemetery Association.  Quite a number of the Grange Masters over the years are among those buried in the Cemetery. 

The National Grange was, and is still, an important resource for rural family life. It was established in 1867 as the result of a federally sponsored survey of the state of agriculture in the South following the Civil War years. There was an obvious need for an organization to help farmers become productive again. It was viewed as “the highway of hope for the American Farm People.”  It gave them a political voice with Congress to fight unscrupulous land grabs by the railroads. The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided information about best planting and growing practices.

The Grange served as a banking organization where farmers could borrow money to pay for the year’s seed and then repay the Grange from the proceeds of selling their crops. In the early 1900’s, the National Grange was instrumental in the establishment of regular mail delivery in rural America. Congress was prompted to authorize RFD – Rural Free Delivery, setting up a system of box numbers along regular rural routes that existed through the 1980’s in some parts of the U.S. The Grange was also a center of social life. The upstairs ballroom was built over springs to cushion dancing feet and legs. Clean-up days at the Kilgore Cemetery ended with a picnic and dance at the Grange.

The organization of the National Grange, formally entitled the Patrons of Husbandry, encouraged membership for anyone over 13 1/2 years of age, and, uniquely for that era, gave full membership and leadership roles to women.  The Grange committed to being an organization for the entire family.

Today, the Grange continues to benefit from the membership and participation of founding families, local residents, Boy Scouts from Troop 363, and the all-girl Boy Scout Troop 1601. Working together, with help from the Rancho Cordova Community Enhancement and Investment Fund, many upgrades and improvements have been made to the historic building and its grounds. The building is once again helping the community celebrate everything from Eagle Scout Courts of Honor to graduations and weddings.

Rancho Cordova celebrates the 150th Anniversary of American River Grange #172 and looks forward to its next 150 years of writing community history.