This program will be held at the Bridgewater Grange located on Route 100A in Bridgewater Corners. Much of rural New England in the late 19th century was locked in a downward spiral of population decline, abandonment of farms, reversion of cleared land to forest and shrinking of villages, all of which contributed to widespread feelings of melancholy and loss among its residents. The development of the Grange movement in the 1870s through the 1890s was aided greatly by people’s hunger for a new vehicle to draw communities together for social interaction, entertainment and mutual support.
Steve Taylor – History of the Grange Movement
