Welcome To Pike peak Grange #163

Established in Franktown in 1908, Pikes Peak Grange #163 was a natural fit for Franktown's strong agricultural roots. During a cooperative farmers' movement that swept rural America in the mid-1870s, several dozen local Grange chapters formed in Colorado, including the Fonder Grange (founded in Franktown in 1875) and its successor, Pikes Peak Grange #163. Although both belonged to State Grange (which set up credit unions, insurance programs, and other services) and to National Grange (which pursued long-range political goals), it was the local chapters that really affected farmers' lives. The dances, holiday picnics, and town meetings they sponsored helped sparsely populated communities forge a sense of identity. Still active today, Pikes Peak Grange #163 occupies its original hall and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

In general, Grange Halls were simple structures that embodied rural construction techniques popular in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Most featured wood framing with shiplap or clapboard siding and were built by local volunteer labor. The Hillside Grange, built in 1926 north of Westcliffe, and the Pikes Peak Grange exemplifies these design and construction principles.

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