Granges in Jasper County

ALLFREE, ANTHONY, BAILEY, BENJAMIN, CLARK, CLAUSSEN, CLYMER, COOK, DODGE, DUGAN, ESCH, FAILOR, FAIR, GATES, HADLEY, HAND, HARRAH, HELPHREY, HESSEN, HUGODORN, HUMMEL, LEE, LONGJOY, MALLICOAT, MOFFATT, MORRISON, MURPHY, OVERDYKE, PEASE, RUSSELL, SCOTT, SHELLY, SMITH, STARRETT, TIEDJE, TOEDT, VANNATTA, WARNER, WATT

Posted By: JCGS Volunteer
Date: 11/17/2014 at 15:02:08

Granges Played Important Part In History of Jasper County
Patrons Of Husbandry Have One Of Greatest Strongholds In Country
By W. S. Johnson
A large part of the people of Jasper county are farmers and there are hundreds of persons who have formerly been Jasper county farmers, but who are now farming in other places, or are engaged in other lines of work, or have retired and gone to other places to pass their remaining years in ease.
These former citizens of Jasper county will doubtless read with interest a sketch of the history of an organization which has probably interested, during its long history, as many farmers as any other organization. A notice of the work of the grange and of some of the men who have helped in carrying on its work is given here in the hope that it may bring to the minds of homecomers some pleasant thoughts of former days.
Jasper county has always been a stronghold for the farm organization originally known as Patrons of Husbandry, but now more commonly called the Grange, and it still continues such.
Granges 60 Years Old
More than 60 years ago the first grange was organized near Elmyra, N.Y. Within a very short time afterward Andrew Failor, who was a very prominent Jasper county farmer of the time, and was the father of Frank Failor, now owner of the Failor Greenhouses of Newton, learned of the organization and was much impressed with its possibilities for helping the Iowa farmer. He got permission of the originators of the idea to organize a Grange at Newton, and in 1862 or 1863 it was instituted, it being the second Grange organized in the United States.
The idea seemed to take with the farmers of Jasper county almost instantly and soon the order had grown to include a good share of the farmers of the county. Seven or eight Granges were organized within a short time in different parts of the county and the county history says that at the time of its greatest prosperity there were 60 or 70 subordinate Granges and the move had spread to every part of the state.
In its first years the Grange was quite largely a political move. For the legislative session of 1873, the General Assembly of Iowa contained so many members who were Grangers that the session has always been known as “the Grange legislature.” One law was passed for the control of railroad rates which was a sort of pioneer move among railroad legislation and it has always been known as the “grange railroad law.” It had many defects, but the present system of restrictive railroad legislation has been largely built upon that foundation.
Has Business Interests
The Grange in those days was also quite largely a business organization. A grange store was soon started at Newton, of which Albert Harrah was the manager, and among the first stockholders were J. W. Murphy, J. W. Allfree, James Lee and H. L. Moffatt. The name of the organization was “The Jasper Co. Co-Operative Association” and was the paid up capitol was $4,700, which was no small sum of money for those days. This store did a large business for a time and drew trade from long distances, and it is said that it paid a small percent of profit on the investment. The grangers also conducted an elevator business at Monroe for about two years, but it made no profit and the stockholders were soon glad to dispose of the plant without much loss.
Another business venture was a co-operative cheese factory, which a prominent granger tells us, was built a short distance west of Newton and was managed by Elias Moffatt. It was not very successful. The only business that was started by the farmers on the co-operative plan at the time was the Jasper County Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance Association, which has grown from a very small beginning to the $10,000,000 business of the present day. It is now under the management of J. H. Mallicoat. This association was organized in 1874 with E. N. Gates president; J. W. Murphy, secretary; H. L. Moffatt, treasurer.
Panic Strikes Blow
In 1873 the great panic came on and soon the hard times which resulted began to be felt by business concerns of all kinds and practically all of the co-operative concerns were wiped out. The political activities of the Grange also dwindled rapidly and for many years it looked as though the decline had completely eliminated the Grange as indeed it did in many parts of the state. By 1878 the number of subordinate Granges in this county had dropped off from 60 to 12 or 15.
The Grange spirit continued however, in the hearts of a few of the farmers here and there and in time there came a revival. Now however, it was more along the line of social and educational activities and in helping in every endeavor to improve the farm home and to make farm life pleasanter and especially to make it more attractive for the young people. For this reason the Grange has joined heartily in the Farm Bureau move and grangers have always been active supporters of the many splendid features of that great organization.
Buena Vista Still Active
One Grange which was organized by the original Jasper county promoter, A. Failor, was instituted at the home of its first master, J. W. Murphy near to the present village of Murphy in August, 1872, and it has continued during the 55 years intervening and is still one of the most active Granges of the county. It owns a comfortable grange hall and is known as Buena Vista Grange No. 544.
The present master is Adolph Claussen. Adolph Pease was the first secretary and S. G. Russell, who is still living at Newton at the advanced age of 94, was the first chaplain. This Grange also has the honor of having set on foot a move for the first Farmers’ Institute and the Farmers’ Co-Operative Telephone system. It is now the oldest grange west of the Mississippi river, and to Buena Vista Grange belongs the honor of keeping alive the spark from which the home fires of the 18 Granges of Jasper county were rekindled until this county took its place at the head of the column in the number of active subordinate Granges, as well as in the number which own their own halls.
This pre-eminence of the Jasper county granges has been shown by the fact that for two successive years Ralph Smith of this county has been elected to the position of Master of the State Grange. The late J. W. Murphy was also for several years secretary of the State Grange and state lecturer.
The record of the first organization of Malaka Grange has been preserved and it may be interesting. It was organized in February, 1873 by Andrew Failor, the national deputy at that time, and the meeting was held at a school house in that township. The following officers were elected: Master, Felix Benjamin; Overseer, Thomas Vannatta; Lecturer, S. C. Cook; Steward, A. S. Fair; Lady Assistant Steward, Miss Arminta Dugan; Chaplain, Peter W. Smith; Treasurer, J. I. Dodge; Gate Keeper, Newton Scott.
The minutes of the first meeting and the items of business discussed would also be interesting, but space does not permit its printing.
18 Granges in County
Jasper county’s pre-eminence in Grange work has largely been due to the efforts of several very enthusiastic workers who gave freely of their time organizing subordinate Granges. Among these have been George Shelly, Hy Hand and Charles Starrett. The result of this constructive work has been that Jasper county now has 17 subordinate Granges and the Jasper Pomona Grange. Eleven of these subordinate Granges now have their own buildings, and their total combined value has been estimated at about $40,000. These buildings, many of which are very convenient and well furnished, not only serve for meeting places for the Granges which own them, but are of great value for all kinds of community activities and have no small value as social centers.
Another strong feature of the Grange work of Jasper county is the group of eight Junior Granges, with Mrs. Etta Hadley as juvenile deputy in charge of the work.
Organization Has Prospered
From this little sketch of the work of the Jasper county Granges it will be seen that the organization has prospered here in recent years because it has sought to be of real service to the farmer, in his business, in his work as a farmer and a stock raiser, in his social and educational relations and in his home life. The Grange has filled a place in the rural communities that no other farm organization can. For more than 60 years the Grange has been fighting the farmers battles, many times alone trying to make the farm a better place to live and to put agriculture, as a business, on its proper level. To better the social and educational condition of the American farmer, is the object of this great fraternal farm organization.
The following is a list of the present Granges of Jasper county, with their masters. The first eleven named own their own halls.
Buena Vista, Adolph Claussen, Killduff; Sugar Grove, Dewey Anthony, Newton; Wittemberg, E. E. Hessen, Newton; Oak Ridge, John Tiedje, Newton; Amboy, Roy Hugodorn, Newton; Palo Alto, E. M. Helphrey, Newton; Mound Prairie, J. R. Clymer, Colfax; Glendale, Harry Morrison, Kellogg; Victor, Ralph Longjoy, Grinnell; Loyal, C. Z. Smith, Kellogg; Mariposa, Louie Toedt, Laurel; Sand Hill, Arthur Watt, Newton; Poweshiek, W. P. Overdyke, Colfax; Homestead, C. W. Clark, Prairie City; Richland, Forest Warner, Newton; Oak Grove, Fred Esch, Mingo; Bethel, V. W. Bailey, Grinnell; Jasper Pomona, Lester Hummel, meets at Palo Alto.
(Additional information: pictures of the following granges were included in the news article.
Sugar Grove, Wittemberg, Mound Prairie, Sand Hill, Buena Vista, Oak Ridge, Amboy, Palo Alto, Oak Grove and Glendale Grange Hall.)
Source: The Newton Daily News; September 15, 1928