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Fairs and Towns
The Grange or "Patrons of Husbandry"
promoted the social and economic interest of farmers and their families. Its ceremonies
included symbols related to farming, such as the sheaf of wheat and a sickle. In the
gallery, you can see this certificate of membership for Charlotte Grange Number 67. The
top center represents the Goddess of Agriculture and her handmaidens gleaning wheat. |
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  Small rural communities grew up where farmers took their products to a railway station
for shipment to other parts of the state or to Great Lakes ports.
Thriving communities
usually had a seat of government (a county court house, a city or township hall), a
school, a bank, several churches and a general store with dry goods and groceries. Bigger
towns had a library, a post office and a Western Union Telegraph Office.
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 Celebrating was part of rural life. Families gathered with townspeople for
social activities such as holidays, dinner and dances, and local fairs. They gathered at
schools and churches, opera houses, Masonic Temples, Grange Halls and Grand Army of the
Republic (G.A.R.) halls. The G.A.R., a fraternal and social group of Union Civil War
veterans, won pensions and other benefits for people who had served in the Civil War.
Community bands were popular attractions at social events. This photo in
the gallery shows an all-girls band from Leslie, Michigan. |
 
County fairs and the Michigan State Fair
(begun in 1849 in Detroit) showcased farm products and livestock. Fair-goers competed for
prizes for the biggest pumpkin, the best homemade jams and jellies and the best breed of
livestock. Winning a blue ribbon or medals, such as these from the Michigan State
Agricultural Society helped establish a farmer's expertise and success.
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 The Goddess of
Agriculture image was popular. Besides appearing in the Grange image and on medals, it
appears in a large painting on the dome of Michigan's State Capitol building.
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Teachers, help your students plan a classroom fair
in the Teachers' Stuff activities for this museum gallery.
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