AUBURN — Grange halls once dotted the Maine landscape. They housed a secret society that served farmers’ economic, educational and social needs. In hundreds of Maine rural towns, they served as community centers.
On Tuesday, Feb. 26, local historian and Grange member Doug Hodgkin will trace the history of the organization, primarily with reference to the Grange in the Crowley’s Junction neighborhood of Lewiston.
Hodgkin, professor emeritus of Bates College, is a fourth generation Grange member on his mother’s side and a third generation member on his father’s side. Members of his family joined Granges in Leeds, Greene, Auburn and Lewiston. He was a member of Lewiston Juvenile and Lewiston Grange No. 2, but transferred, when he married, to Wales Grange No. 40.
Hodgkin has written several works on Lewiston and Auburn history, including “Historic Lewiston: The Grange at Crowley’s Junction.” Recent biographies are of Edward Little and Elwin E. Additon. The latter, his great-grandfather, was treasurer of the Maine State Grange for 37 years.
Hodgkin is a member of the Maine Genealogical Society, New England Historic Genealogical Society, newsletter editor of Androscoggin Historical Society, and chair of the Lewiston Historic Preservation Review Board.
Admission for this program is free, although donations are accepted. For more information about the society, call 207-784-0586. Enter the County Building at the side door on Court Street and proceed to the third floor. An elevator is available.
