PHOTO BY JOHN FRYMAN / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
GOING, GOING, GONE … One of the oldest buildings in Williams County, the former Northwest Grange Lodge No. 413 building located in Cooney and constructed in 1882, was torn down on Monday, April 27. Performing the demolition work on the 144-year-old building was Advanced Excavating and Demolition, LLC of McComb, Ohio.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
One of the oldest historic buildings in Williams County, the Northwest Grange Hall located in Cooney, was torn down on Monday, April 27.
Located on the corner of State Route 49 and County Road P-50, the Northwest Grange Hall was built 144 years ago in 1882.
This date is according to a written history by Everett and Ruth Peck, which was published in the 1978 book, Williams County, Ohio: “A Collection of Historical Sketches, and Family Histories, compiled by members and friends of the Williams County Historical Society, Volume I.
Known as Northwest Grange No. 413, it was noted there was a large increase in membership in the Grange, thus a larger meeting place was needed. The Grange, which was also the first in Williams County, was organized on January 30, 1874.
On January 12, 1882, a committee consisting of William Rice, David Coolman, and Jacob Brunk reported they had purchased a site for a new hall on the northeast corner of Northwest Center, later named Cooney.
It was on May 27, 1882, a contract was given to W. Strunk of York, Indiana, to build a two-story building 28 x 50 feet for the sum of $928.75. Members were to furnish stone for the basement.
At first, they decided not to finish the first floor. But later they decided to finish it and rent it for a store. When all completed including a paint job, the total cost was $1,617.65.
A subscription from the membership yielded $337.50 plus $105.00 in the treasury left an indebtedness of $1,175.15. Notes bearing seven and eight percent of interest were held by various members until completely out of debt in 1921.
In January 1883, the Northwest Grange moved into the new hall, and among the new fixtures were two dozen spittoons.
The building committee was ordered to sell the old hall, but it is not clear how they disposed of it.
There were others who had used the Northwest Grange Hall including The Odd Fellows who rented the meeting room for $4.00 per month, and the storeroom was rented to E. Welch for $100 per year.
A general store and a blacksmith shop were also housed in the building on the first floor with the Grange Hall located on the second floor.
Advanced Excavating and Demolition, LLC of McComb, Ohio, performed the demolition work on the building.
