Bunting decorates the Bryant Pond Grange Hall also known as the Franklin Grange Hall on Main Street in Woodstock, ME. circa 1910 submitted photo

The Bryant Pond Grange Hall also known as the Franklin Grange Hall on Main Street in Woodstock, ME. submitted photo

WOODSTOCK — This stage is silent now… but over the past 132 years The Franklin Grange Hall has seen generations of citizens of Woodstock sing and dance and perform and celebrate. It has witnessed solemn ceremonies, lectures, wedding receptions, and community gatherings. This stage has been a central part of the Woodstock community since it was first opened in August of 1892.

The town of Woodstock was incorporated in 1815 five years before Maine became a state. The first residents were gathered around Stephens’ Mills, Andrews Mills and Pinhook sections of Woodstock.

When the Atlantic and St Lawrence Railroad came through in 1851 people began to move closer to the train station and the village of Bryant Pond became the center of population. By the early 1900’s the village was thriving with businesses, tea rooms, hotels and all the amenities of a typical small town in Maine.

The arrival of train service had a tremendous impact on the way people lived and worked. In the late 1800’s, Maine farms were mainly subsistence farms. That changed with the coming of the railroads and farming for profit. New farming equipment and methods as well as expanded markets for farm goods changed the New England farm.

In response to all the changes in farming, the “Order of the Patrons of Husbandry,” or the “Grange,” was founded in 1867 in Washington, D.C. just after the Civil War. The Grange came to Maine in 1873-74 and by 1876 there were 288 Granges around the state. In 1882 the grange building in Bryant Pond was built.

In the early years the focus of the Grange was on cooperative buying and selling of goods and wool. Farmers were able to buy farming tools, stock food and fertilizer in large quantities. In 1896 part of the Grange building was used as a store to sell flour and other groceries. The store closed in 1931.

The Grange was organized to fill the need for support, education, and cooperative opportunities for farmers in this changing landscape. It also focused on improving social, political, economic and educational opportunities for rural residents.

The simple design of the building is shared by most grange halls around the country. It includes a large meeting space with a stage on one floor and a dining hall, kitchen, and meeting space on another floor. The icons used for Grange membership meetings were easily moved to a locked area leaving the space available for other community gatherings. The stage at the Grange featured into many of those gatherings.

Inside Bryant Pond’s Franklin Grange Hall, 2023. Rose Lincoln

Citizens watch a concert on the porch of The Bryant Pond Grange Hall also known as the Franklin Grange Hall on Main Street in Woodstock, submitted photo

A room inside the Franklin Grange Hall built in1892 and vacant since 2017. Rose Lincoln

The building was remodeled in 1925. Downstairs walls were moved to create a kitchen and dining area as well as a space for the Junior Grange. An addition to the back of the building provided space for a set of stairs to be used as a fire exit.

One unique feature of the building is the two-story outhouse attached to the back of the building. It was not until the 1960’s that a modern bathroom was added. The existence of a two-story outhouse would be unique for the town if it was not one-upped by the three story outhouse on the Masonic building next door.

In May of 2019 the grange building was sold to the town of Woodstock. A study committee was formed to make recommendations to the Selectmen on what to do with the building. The committee has three possible recommendations: Raze the building, sell the building, or bring the building up to code and retain it for town use. The recommendation of the committee will be presented to the selectmen for a vote at the next town meeting in 2025.

Should the town vote to keep the building a number of improvements will need to be made to bring the building up to code. In 2023 the building was added to the Maine Historic Register and an application is currently being made for recognition on the National Historic Register. With national recognition will come the opportunity to apply for grants to help with the effort.

It is possible that in the not too distant future the former grange building again will be the town center for town life, with performances, music and dancing for many more generations to come.