Home, home on the grange

By Jefferson Dodge | Boulder Weekly

Many people, when they hear the word “grange,” think of a ZZ Top song, or, at best, something about a farm.

Some might recall that it is a sort of community building for farmers, and one of Boulder County’s last remaining granges is reinventing itself as a center of the local farm-to-table movement and holding a signature event on June 1 that combines history, the outdoors, sustainability and local goods.

The Altona Grange, a structure built west of Longmont in 1896 by Colorado pioneers who initially came to the area for precious metals in towns like Gold Hill — but who then settled in the lowlands as farmers and ranchers — has seen a resurgence in recent years.