In 1867, the National Grange, officially the Patrons of Husbandry (or "P of H"), was formed in Washington, DC. The organization offered a framework for political, economic, educational, and social support for farmers throughout the country, as the idea gradually took hold first in the Middle West and South, and later in the Northeast. New London's Grange was established in 1883, a decade after the short-lived New London Farmer's Club. The Grange's secret rituals alarmed some citizens, just as Freemasonry had done earlier in the century. Nevertheless, 22 men and women signed the charter of the state's 95th Grange. At its close in 1980, three years short of its centennial, the local Grange still recorded 86 members. ▶ VIEW SLIDES & NOTES.
