No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 75 



1867, and constituted themselves the National Grange of the Fatrons 

 of Husbandry, with William Saunders as master, J. R. Thompson, 

 lecturer, William M. Ireland, treasurer, and O. H. Kelley, secretary. 

 The remaining offices, for obvious reasons, were left vacant. 



The little brown building in which the organization was effected 

 was at that time the office of Mr. Saunders, and stood embowered 

 with the trees in the gardens of the Agricultural Department on the 

 corner of Four-and-half street and Missouri avenue. Later, the late 

 Colonel Aiken of South Carolina, and other interested members of 

 the Order made vigorous efforts to have the government preserve 

 this historic building, but they were unsuccessful in their efforts. 



The first Subordinate (J range was organized in Washington, D. C, 

 the 8th day of January, 1868, as a school of instruction, with William 

 M. Ireland as master. 



The. first dispensation for a Grange was granted at Harrisburg, 

 Pa., the 4th day of April, 1868, but the first regular Subordinate. 

 Grange to which a charter was issued was organized at Fredonia, 

 N. Y., the 16th day of April, 1868. 



The first State Grange, that of Minnesota, was organized the 22d 

 day of February, 1869. The new Order made slow progress up to 

 1872, only 257 Granges having been organized in the entire country. 

 During the year 1872, 1,105 were organized and the Order had an 

 existence in twenty-tw^o States. 



The first meeting of the National Grange, as a delegate body, was 

 held at Georgetown, D. C, the 8th day of January, 1873, with six of 

 the founders of the Order and seventeen delegates present, repre- 

 senting eleven States; six of the delegates were masters of State 

 Granges, and the remainder were deputies in the Order. In addi- 

 tion to these, four women were present, viz: Miss Carrie A. Hall, 

 xMrs. O. H. Kelley, Mrs. D. W. Adams and Mrs. J. C. Abbott. The 

 total number of Granges organized previous to this meeting was 

 1,362. Nearly 30,000 charters have been issued to January 1, 1000. 



DECLARATION OF PURPOSES OF THE PATRONS OF HUS- 

 BANDRY. 



PREAMBLE. 



Profoundly impressed with the truth that the National Grange of 

 the United States should definitely proclaim to the world its general 

 o'bjects, we hereby unanimously make this Declaration of Purposes 

 of the Patrons of Hn sbnndrv: 



