Grange hall was built to last: North Scarborough Grange celebrating 100th anniversary

BY MICHAEL KELLEY | LEADER

The North Scarborough Grange Hall has sat on the corner of Saco Street and County Road for more than 100 years offering community members a place to socialize about the affairs of Scarborough.

Although activity has subsided as membership has dwindled, a group of members are working hard to keep the history alive.

The organization was formed in March 1909 after members of the Oak Hill Grange branched out to start their own grange. According to “Images of America: Scarborough,” a photo book written by Rodney Laughton, the reason for starting the North Scarborough location was “because of the long distance to what was the Oak Hill Grange.”

The Oak Hill Grange is now home to Our School, a preschool and pre-kindergarten program that started in South Portland in 1980.

The North Scarborough Grange began with 40 members, who met in a church that was located at what is now a gas station on the corner of Saco Street and County Road. Although the group quickly outgrew the space, the biggest concern was a place to house horses on cold nights.