Potlatch Grange takes its place on the National Register of Historic Places
May 24—In barely more than a year, the Mountain Home Grange Hall in northern Latah County has been pulled back from the brink of extinction, revitalized in membership and listed by the National Park Service in the National Register of Historic Places.
"The designation to the National Register of Historic Places is an important achievement," said Gary E. Strong, a member of the Grange and chairman of the Latah Preservation Commission.
"As the Grange was rechartered in April 2021 with nearly 50 members signing up the group gathered with the national and state Grange representatives to launch a new era of Mountain Home Grange history. Many of us were involved as children and now have the opportunity to forge new relationships with the community."
Mountain Home Grange is located about six miles north of Potlatch and is one of only two remaining public buildings in the northern part of Latah County, Strong said.
Construction on the building began in 1931, and members cut and hauled logs to a local mill to be sawed into the lumber used to build the present hall. The building served as the chapter's primary meeting place until it became inactive in 1989. The listing on the national register coincided with the Grange's recharter in April 2021.
The building is a single-story wood frame structure consisting of the original 1935 main hall, a front anteroom built in 1936 and a rear addition with a basement completed in 1953.
Strong said the building has had few alterations but since reorganizing last year, members have been working to clean it and make necessary repairs.
"We reorganized in April (2021) and have been meeting monthly," Strong said. "We just had a clean-up day and had a craft fair in May. We have a community yard sale in the middle of June. So we continue to work on the building and cleaning it up and we're going to offer our first scholarship" to a graduating student at Potlatch High school.
"We're trying to get in gear now to be a community asset," Strong said.
Although most of the members range "from middle age on up to us old guys," Strong said several younger people participated in the craft fair and some younger families with children have pitched in on clean-up days. The meetings are regularly attended by 40 or more members and Strong said the group is continuing to recruit for more members.
Placement in the National Register of Historic Places, he said, will allow the Grange eligibility for future grants to be used for the group's projects.
The Mountain Home Grange was founded in 1919 with 45 original members. It was part of the larger national network of Granges that helped promote agricultural issues as well as providing a social hub for all kinds of activities — from family reunions and wedding receptions to candidate forums and farm and craft fairs.
The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry was founded in 1867 as a fraternal, nonpartisan organization open to anyone aged 14 and older interested in agriculture, rural concerns and bettering the community. Granges never endorse political candidates but members do work on policy issues through a grassroots vetting process.
Jan Krall, secretary of the Idaho State Grange, said there are currently about 22 granges in the state — fewer than half of the number of granges from three decades ago. In this area, besides the grange at Potlatch, there also are granges in Moscow, Kendrick and Idaho County.
"Over the years, some of the (members) of the granges have gotten too old and they can't take care of their hall," Krall said, explaining the sharp decline in membership and chapters.
"We do still support the farmers and do legislative stuff," Krall said. "We belong to the food producers (organizations) and the legislators really look for our opinions on things."
Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.
