Maplewood Area Historical Society Executive Director T.J. Maleskee will be the featured speaker for the Washington County Historical Society Annual Meeting on Thursday, March 21st at the Stillwater Event Center.
The first successful national farming organization was the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry, better known as the Grange, founded in 1867.
Oliver Kelley was an active leader in local agricultural circles who was dedicated to the idea that the area's farmers benefited from each others' experiences. He wanted to create an organization that would advocate for and educate farmers and their families, enrich their social lives, and share information.
With ideas and encouragement from his niece, Caroline Hall, Oliver Kelley and six colleagues from the U.S. Bureau of Agriculture started the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry. The Grange opposed the manufacturing and processing monopolies that fixed grain and livestock prices at a disadvantage to farmers. They also protested the high railroad freight rates farmers had to pay to get their products to market.
Within two years, Minnesota had 40 Grange chapters and a state organization. By 1869 the Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry was organized with sixty members in Newport. Soon another Grange organization popped up in nearby Cottage Grove and still another in Point Douglas, across the river from Prescott, Wisconsin, and one chapter in Stillwater.
By 1873, with farmers battling falling crop prices and rising railroad shipping costs, Grange membership had grown to nearly 700,000 members in 9,000 chapters across the nation.
T.J. Maleskee is a past president of the Minnesota Grange, has organized two farmers markets that provided opportunities for women and BIPOC business owners, is a proud member of the White Bear Lakes Lions Club, and volunteers at the Academy for Sciences and Agriculture in Vadnais Heights, as well as with Many Faces of White Bear Lake.
The dinner meeting will be at the Stillwater Event Center, 1910 S. Greeley Street – next door to the Washington County Heritage Center on Thursday March 21st. The event is open to the public and the cost is $25 for WCHS members and $30 for nonmembers. The evening will begin at 5:30 with a social hour, dinner catered by Scheel’s Catering at 6:30 and the annual meeting will be at 7:30. Mr. Maleskee’s presentation will start shortly after the meeting.
Seating is limited and organizers expect a large attendance. Reservations are required in advance.
To make reservations or for more information about the event please call 651-439-2298 or email at information@wchsmn.org or visit www.wchsmn.org.
