OWLS HEAD – Current custodians of the former Grange Hall in Owls Head are emptying out the premises for what may be the final chapter in the building’s long history.

Owned by the town, and “leased” to Mussel Ridge Historical Society for one dollar per year, the Hall at 4 Ash Point Drive faces building stabilization costs, estimated at more than $280,000, based on an engineering study done around 2014. That $200,000 doesn’t even touch renovations to the interior.

The floors of the Hall slope dramatically in the kitchen area. There has never been bathroom plumbing. Animals have taken up residence from time to time, and most of the windows stand bare after the mere touch of fingers have crumbled the curtains to flakes, according to Dave Matthews, of the Historical Society.

Previously a schoolhouse, incoming Grange members bolted old theater seats to the floors to use during their meetings, stage performances, and socials. The building, with its Grange song books, dinnerware, furniture, and miscellaneous items, exudes history. Some items are “typical Maine” said Matthews – people have dishes they don’t want, so they hand they over to the Grange. Other items simply landed in the hall, such as two bathroom doors from the recently-razed Owls Head School, and a trophy that Matthews found in a Grange electrical box.

Instead of holding on to this particular past, Mussel Ridge is hoping instead to redirect the equivalent $200,000 towards the future.

“We figured that we weren’t going to be able to do anything with this, so we basically ended our lease with the Town, gave it back to them,” said Matthews.

Two and a half years ago, the historical society sought approval at town meeting for a new learning center to be designed and built on the grounds of the Community Center. The move would centralize historical materials and archives that are currently disbursed between Mussel Ridge’s primary facility at “The Homestead,” the Grange Hall, a church in South Thomaston, and the Village School on North Shore Drive.

The Select Board approved Mussel Ridge’s withdrawal as guardians of the Town-owned Grange Hall. Through further negotiation with the town, the historical society is taking charge of the Grange Hall estate sale of interior items. Any profits accumulated will go toward financing the new building, which will also be town-owned and leased to the historical society.

“We’ll give [the Grange] back to the town, and then it’s up to them to decide what they want to do with it,” said Matthews.

Matthews envisions demolishing the building and creating a park with a gazebo and a plaque to commemorate the location that gave to so many.

Nationwide, the Grange association assisted farmers with insurance, retail, training, and became a strong agricultural lobbyist within the government. Internally, it gave women an equal vote to men long before women’s suffrage, and advocated for libraries, education, and charity. Regionally, it provided socialization and entertainment. 

In Maine, Grange organizations began in the 1850s with Farmer’s Clubs, and evolved into the nationally-known Grange around 1873. Membership interest lagged in the 1920s, picked back up for a time, then took a major downturn in the 1960s when insurance laws changed, economy interests changed, and television grew in popularity.

What is left in Owls Head, which resembles dozens of other Maine towns, are memories of the past.

The future of Grange Hall No. 563 is ultimately the town’s decision.

Before the October 31, 2021 transfer of custody, the historical society intends to sell all it can from the building’s interior: the items on the tables, the tables themselves, the duct work, the furnace, the wall panels.

Whatever can be stripped from the inside is an option.

Mussel Ridge Historical Society estate sale will be Saturday, September 4, 2021, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

All sales will be final. MRHS will accept cash or local checks.

For more information email: history@musselridge.org or call Carolyn at 207-593-2667.

Benefit salvage/yard/rummage sale of Owls Head Grange Hall No. 563 inventory