Home on the Grange

Home on the Grange. . Grangeville owes its origin to members of the Charity Grange #15, Patrons of Husbandry, organized in Mount Idaho in 1874. John M. Crooks, owner of a 600-acre ranch on Three Mile Creek, gave the Grangers land for a hall, an additional five acres, and a water right for a mill. A flour mill was built in 1875 and soon thereafter construction began on the Grange Hall. By 1876, there were a number of frame structures and a post office on land donated by Mr. Crooks. The name Grangeville was chosen at one of the first Grange meetings. , Grangeville , “A quiet, progressive center...” , In 1890, Grangeville’s growth began to gain momentum. A.F. Parker, the owner-publisher of the Idaho County Free Press, wrote of Grangeville: , “It is a quiet, progressive center, and is one of the most moral, orderly and law-abiding towns in America. Every sojouner is struck by the steady air and self-repose of its citizens...It is the commercial center of Idaho county, being situated in the most fertile and thickly-settled portion of Camas Prairie. It is a farmer’s, miner’s, stockman’s, and prospector’s trading point and does a very large mountain trade.” , Parker also boasted that Grangeville had “a high school, a resident minister of the Methodist church, a fine brass band, a choir and orchestra, a Chautauqua circle and other indications of culture and refinement.” , (photo box at right:) , Fire and Flood , Grangeville rebounds from disasters , (top left) Alexander-Freidenrich, the oldest mercantile store in Idaho, was twice destroyed by fire - in 1905 and 1976. The store closed in 1987 and is now occupied by U.S. Bank on the corner of Hall and Main streets. , (top right) In 1912, a fire spread through downtown, destroying the Idaho County Free Press building and all the equipment. Publisher Aaron F. Parker went to Spokane, purchased a hand press, and never missed an issue of the newspaper. , (center) The 1921 flood was the worst natural disaster in Grangeville. A cloud-burst in the mountains hurled a wall of water down Dry Creek and into an open ditch on the south side of Main Street. In the building where Irwin Drug now stands, P.M. Glanville, the local druggist, was trapped in his basement and drowned. Two feet of water covered most of Main Street. , (bottom left) One hot August afternoon in 1944, a fire started in the Blue Fox Theater basement. A woman who lived in an apartment above the theater climbed on the marquee to safety. The roof in the auditorium collapsed and the foyer, apartments, and stores were water damaged. The theater was restored and it is now on the National Register of Historical Places. , (bottom right) When it opened in 1908, the Imperial Hotel was the benchmark of elegance in Grangeville. The three-story hotel had marble floors, a fountain in the lobby, and hot and cold water in each of the 84 sleeping rooms. For years, balls and banquets were held in the hotel. Sadly, the firefighters shown here in 1966 were unable to save the majestic hotel.