Pleasant Valley Grange No. 136

The former Pleasant Valley Grange No. 136 is a vernacular two-story, gable front wood frame building that has been and continues to be an important social and community center in the Village of West Bethel in the Town of Bethel, Oxford County, Maine. This subordinate Grange was organized on March 29, 1875 and met in schools, other local halls, and member homes until they built the nominated building. The large multipurpose meeting and dining hall with an attached kitchen on the first floor and the large meeting hall with stage on the second floor are common features of Maine Grange halls. The flexible spaces house Grange activities as well as other public events including music, drama, speeches, graduations, and receptions. When the local Grange disbanded in 2016 the building reverted to the Maine State Grange which sold it to private owners who plan to continue using the building for community and recreational activities. The Grange, or Patrons of Husbandry, was an important social organization across the United States throughout the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century. Particular emphasis is placed on agricultural education and progressive community and social activities. The Grange’s influence was widespread nationally and in Maine, with 588 individual Granges established between 1873 and 1985. The Grange has a hierarchical social organization, but the focus of the local Grange is community support and development. Pleasant Valley Grange No. 136 is significant at the local level for its role in the social and recreational history of the area. The period of significance begins with the construction of the building in 1877 and ends fifty years before the present in 1976.