Interest grows in preserving old grange hall in East Canaan

NORTH CANAAN — The old Laurel Grange hall, which appeared destined for a wrecking ball, could benefit from a historic renovation plan instead. The town was poised to sell the East Canaan building, for one dollar, to a neighbor. The assumption was that there was no possible future use for the building, and that its only value was the land beneath it, which an adjoining landowner might want. The problem is not so much the condition of the building itself, but the lack of a restroom and no land for a septic system. Built well before required setbacks, it fills the property to within inches of property lines. There is no parking, except for on the Route 44 shoulder.But after reading in the newspaper about the pending sale and demolition, Falls Village resident Greg Naylor wrote to the selectmen with an offer to buy the building and restore it on site, describing himself as “an avid restoration hobbyist.” He said he would use the building as a private woodworking shop. The town has owned the building for about a decade, since the grange disbanded. It has been used sporadically by Boy Scout Troop 22 since then.The two-story gable-front structure is not an architectural standout. But grange halls around the country, built mostly in the late 1800s, are popular preservation projects. There are more than 60 on the National Register of Historic Places. They were built as meeting places for the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry (or, farmers). Membership grew rapidly after the Grange was established in 1867. It became a consortium of sorts, with members using their numbers to promote agriculture through the likes of initiatives, from bulk seed purchases to political activism. It remains a viable organization with active groups in more than 2,000 towns.Naylor did not return a call for comment, but wrote in his letter to the selectmen that he was not surprised to read the building was headed for demolition. “The historical significance of the building represents a bygone period of our local agricultural heritage. Surprisingly, the town of North Canaan still retains several working farms and tends to honor our local heritage of a farming community; hence the building’s original purpose.” The grange hall sits across from a small Green and a monument, and the North Canaan Congregational Church, the town’s original meeting house in what was once a town center.The selectmen plan to meet with both interested neighbor Paul Vernali and Naylor to determine how to proceed.