The South Greenville Grange No. 225 was designed as a Grange meeting hall and as a facility that supported a variety of public events which enriched the lives of the surrounding rural area residents. Grange halls were often constructed on donated land, with materials and labor donated by the Grange members. A dining room and kitchen encompasses the first floor and an auditorium complete with a wood dance floor is located on the second floor. Contrary to other fraternities, the Greenville Grange opened both their first and second floors for community use.

Oliver Hudson Kelley along with six other men founded the Patrons of Husbandry in 1867. The intended objective of the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry was to educate the American farmer in sound farm practices as well as providing a place for socialization.

The formation of local state Granges were a response to the larger national Granger Movement that was sweeping the country. Beginning as a benevolent movement which was formed to unite the nation through its farmers after the Civil War, the National Grange organization quickly became a farm lobby opposed to the railroad and elevator monopolies.

The American farmer was being squeezed by the price fixing of the railroads and the elevator monopolies. Within eight years, the National Grange grew to 20,000 individual chapters with a membership of 800,000 farmers. The fight against the monopolistic grain storage and transportation companies consumed the decade following the Civil War. The Grange used their collective power to promote legislation that would reign in the monopolies. That control was achieved in court rulings of Munn v Illinois and Illinois v Wabash. Eventually, the United States government passed the Interstate Commerce Act in 1887. Once the Commissioner of Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture became a cabinet position on February 9, 1889, the American farmer had a permanent voice in Washington.

Following these early achievements, the Grange has become what Oliver Hudson Kelley originally envisioned; a social and educational network. The early Grange Movement is credited with establishing, through their persistence, several elements of rural life which remain important to this day including; Cooperative Extension Service, rural free mail delivery, and rural electrification.

The South Greenville Grange No. 225 continues to convey the historical and cultural identity of the community. It is the oldest surviving functioning Grange organization in the State of Wisconsin.

This property is private. Please respect the rights and privacy of the organization. For event and rental information, please contact the organization directly.

The Fuldner Heritage Fund paid for the preparation of this nomination. This endowed fund, created through a generous donation by the Jeffris Family Foundation and administered by the Wisconsin Historical Society, supports the nomination of historically and architecturally significant rural and small town properties.