Riverton Grange Turns 99

RIVERTON — Tonight, Friday, Jan. 19, grange members and friends will gather at 6:30 p.m. to celebrate the 99th anniversary of Riverton Grange. A potluck supper will precede a program of memories with past masters and lecturers being honored.

Riverton Grange was organized and officers installed on Jan. 3, 1908. The meeting was held at Rowley Hall, over the present Riverton General store. Many of these early meetings had an attendance of 120 or more.

In 1929, a fund was established to purchase a building in which to meet and in 1934 the present hall on Route 20, then known as Coe’s Mill, was purchased for $2,200. Round and square dances and card parties were held to pay for the hall and make necessary improvements to it.

This hall survived the ravages of the 1955 flood when water rose to 16 inches on the main floor. In 1965, a serious fire at the Hitchcock Chair finishing building next door threatened the hall, but the damage was not severe. In 2004, Victory Grange, located in Colebrook, became affiliated with Riverton Grange.

The grange is a family organization and welcomes anyone who would like to become a member. One of its community service projects over the last four years has been to present personalized "Dictionaries for Thirds" to every third-grader at the Colebrook Consolidated School and the Barkhamsted Elementary School.

For more information, call Shirley Moore at 860-379-2633.