Box Office

Events Calendar

Auditions

Become a Member

Sponsor Opportunities

Join the Mailing List

News & Awards

From data compiled by Joan DeVries in 1990

December 19, 1892, the Hiram R. Roberts Grange #194 was organized. 36 Charter members attended and George Yeaton elected the first Master. George proposed naming the grange after Hiram R. Roberts, "our beloved townsman" who had died 16 years earlier. The first meeting was held at the Sullivan Schoolhouse, followed by meetings at hte Turnpike Schoolhouse on Baer Road. Within a year, the schoolhouse was too small and the members decided to build a hall of their own.

George Yeaton sold for $75.00 a portion of Hickory Hill Farm on which to build a grange hall.

Alvah T. Ramsdell, a Dover architect, donated the design of the grange hall. The men of the grange constructed the building with Charles Hayes, a carpenter, serving as the foreman.

Ten members signed a note for $1,000 to finance the project. Terms included yearly payment with interest on the whole note. An additional $400 was needed before completion.

The hall was dedicated on the afternoon of January 11, 1894, at which time there were 72 members of the grange. Members put on a variety of events to repay the original note, including dramas, comedies, mild tragedies, recitations, and vocal music programs. After each performance, they held a banquet. Charge for these performances was 25 cents. They also held six fairs, and several clambakes, lawn parties, band concerts, weighing parties, and box parties.

The last payment was made by October, 1902.

The hall remained in its original state for 26 years, with the kitchen located where the handicap lift is now. There was no running water - members hauled water from the spring at the bottom of the hill across Route 4. For a time, water was piped from the home of Joseph D. Roberts, across Roberts Road, but discontinued when his home burned down on January 20, 1920.

The original hall had no stage. Two dining room tables were put together on short wooden saw horses. Heat was provided (such as it was) by a one-pipe furnace and winter meetings were very cold.

Things changed when Arthur and Sarah Cram joined the grange in the mid-1920's. Arthur loved to eat and deemed the small kitchen inadequate for his needs, and Sarah wanted a "real stage" on which to display her talents. Arthur prevailed upon his employer, E. W. Rollins, to donate $1,000 towards an addition. This, along with a bequest of $500 from Susan Roberts Rollins, Hiram R. Roberts' daughter, allowed for an addition to the building. The total cost of the addition was $3,000, which was paid off within a year and called the Cram-Rollins Addition. A large furnace was placed in the basement of the hall, under this addition, and the kitchen received a large range.

The younger members of the grange wanted to allow dancing, which was vehemently opposed by George Yeaton and his followers. Mr. Yeaton tried to pass a resolution prohibiting dancing, but this failed and he and his cohorts left the Hiram R. Roberts Grange, never to return. Ironically, after winning the battle to allow dancing, the young people seldom danced at the hall.

The Garrison Players purchased the building on January 26, 1987 from the NH State Grange, after the Rollinsford chapter became inactive. Shortly thereafter, Garrison Players was able to purchase additional land from the heir of the estate of Mrs. Matthews, who owned the surrounding 84 acres of land. This allowed for the installation of a septic system and a parking lot.

For the past 19 years, Garrison Players has worked diligently to restore this beautiful gem of a building and bring back to the area an array of entertainment and a meeting place for various non-profit groups (see some of the restoration photos here).

It is most interesting that Garrison Players is doing today what the original grange members were doing over one hundred years ago - putting on plays and various other types of entertainment - as well as hosting the occasional "banquet".

Meet the Board of Directors

Mission & Vision

Grange History & Photos