Bygone Hudson Valley

The New York State Grange began in 1873 as a fraternal service organization for farm families, and many rural communities in the state quickly formed local chapters. The earliest Grange in the town of Plattekill, known as the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry #390, is believed to have formed in the fall of 1875 or spring of 1876. There is not a great deal of recorded information about this early organization, although it is believed to have met in Modena. In his 1949 “History of Modena,” the late historian Kenneth Hasbrouck notes that “the old hotel sheds, located between the hotel and the old post office, had room for the many wagons which brought people from miles around to Grange meetings. Over the sheds Grange meetings were held.”

 In 1902, the Plattekill Grange #923 was organized, and by the following year, a Grange Hall was constructed on Church Street. The building soon became a community center, serving as both a meeting hall and a store. The store operated on Wednesdays and Saturdays so that members could purchase goods and animal feed at what an early local newspaper described as “nearly wholesale prices.”

With nearly 200 members by the 1920s, the Plattekill Grange became known as the largest Grange organization in Ulster County for many years, County-level meetings were often held in the Plattekill hall, as well as many community dinners, dances, card parties and other events. By the time the Plattekill Grange celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary in 1977, membership was still more than 180 members strong and included a Juvenile Grange for the youngest members.

The Clintondale Grange #957 was formed in 1903 with 24 charter members. The organization rapidly expanded and soon moved from holding meetings at the homes of various members to looking for a permanent home. By 1911, the Clintondale Grange purchased what was known as the Ellis Building (later the I.G.A.) for the sum of $1800. Nearly twenty years later, with a membership of over 200 members, the Grange purchased the Clintondale Improvement Association building on Mill Street.

The new building featured a stage, meeting room, kitchen and dining hall that allowed the organization to host a variety of events. The 1959 History of the Village of Clintondale describes the Clintondale Grange Hall as “a community center where church groups and other organizations have public suppers with as many as 300 having been served at the large clam bakes. Dances, minstrels, wedding receptions, Farm and Home Bureau meetings, movies, Halloween parties, home talent plays and graduation exercises have been a part of its history in addition to the regular bimonthly Grange meetings.” By 1968, however, with dwindling membership, members of the Clintondale Grange voted to sell their hall and returned to conducting meetings in the homes of members. By the early 2000s, a small group of members met in the Town of Plattekill Senior Center, before eventually disbanding altogether.

The two Grange chapters in Plattekill often worked together and supported efforts of the State and Pomona, or County, Granges. One of the initial common causes was the support of new state restrictions on hunting in the early 1900s. Members of the Plattekill and Clintondale Granges worked with the Pomona Grange to help support the passage of a state hunting license law. Farmers noted that without regulation, their fields, fences, crops and livestock were often harmed by hunters who did not respect property lines. They fought to keep the bill requiring hunters to be licensed and restricted to certain seasons, putting themselves directly in opposition to firearms manufacturers who were trying to have the new law repealed. Ulster County Grangers told one reporter in 1908 that the new law reduced trespassing and damage and forced hunters into being “gentlemanly and law-abiding.”

Another trait the Plattekill and Clintondale Granges shared was a noted emphasis on and support for local history. Both groups often hosted lecturers, slideshows and plays that depicted life in the Town of Plattekill in years gone by. (The Plattekill Grange continues to support this today, and features a small local history museum in the Grange building as well as housing the Plattekill Historical Preservation Society.)

 In later years, with the decline of agriculture in Plattekill, Grange members shifted their focus to other areas, such as education, health and safety. Members of both organizations raised money for food banks, donated handcrafted items to local hospitals and provided elementary school students with dictionaries and other school supplies – continuing their longstanding tradition of service to the community.

Although the #390 and the Clintondale Grange are now part of Plattekill’s past, the Plattekill Grange #923 continues to remain active and serve the community. This year, the Grange building on Church Street will celebrate its 120^th birthday and the Plattekill Historical Preservation Society will host a meeting celebrating the rich history of this organization.