In the Spirit of Four Oaks Grange

Written by CAN neighbor Laura Allen - https://lauraallen.me/ (thank you Laura!)

Four Oaks Grange Road is a wisp of a street. One long block, it starts at 18th avenue and heads past single-story homes, small front lawns, lilacs, and apple trees before ending after the old Bailey Hill school. Back in the day, it led to its namesake: Four Oaks Grange — a community hub and driver of positive change in the area since the early 1900s. Although this Grange closed its doors over twenty years ago, its presence lingers and the building thrives — now a stunning art studio.

Four Oaks began in 1914, when Mr. O.L. Hall moved to the rural Bailey Hill area, a few miles outside Eugene. He’d left a Grange back east, and so convened a group of neighbors — over half were women —  to plan a new Grange. They chose the name ‘Four Oaks’  for the four oak trees growing near their meeting place at Bailey Hill School. The first official meeting was on February 6, 1915, with 73 members. 

At this time, Granges were found all over the country. Just in Oregon, over 900 Granges started between 1872 and 2000. They were a social organization, nonpartisan and nondenominational, that supported and empowered rural families, with a focus on agriculture. Many are still around today. 

Four Oaks Grange quickly planned for their own building, a hallmark of Granges. The women’s group of Four Oaks sold wildflowers to raise money and paid fifty dollars for a piece of land next to Bailey Hill School. 

In 1917, the Grange took out an $850 loan for building materials. With mostly volunteer labor, they slogged through a wet winter and finished construction in August — the grand total for the building was $1700.  What fun to pay off that mortgage: rummage sales, ice cream socials, exhibits at the county fair and selling flowers. Plus, “every woman was asked to set a hen, raise the brood and sell the young chickens.” After three years, the loan was paid and the Grange president publicly burned the mortgage paper to celebrate. 

“Learn to do by doing” The Four Oaks motto

The first 50 years of Four Oaks Grange was impressive. As an agrarian mutual aid society, they worked on farm improvements, cooperative buying and selling of goods and crops, helped start the Eugene Growers Market, got insurance coverage for their members and helped bring a Grange co-op bank to town. 

The Grange also helped with daily life – fixing houses, catching cattle, and growing corn. They planned fun activities to bring people together. There were picnics and plays, plus celebrations to honor members' births, deaths, weddings and anniversaries.

Education was an important part of Grange life, with classes – from dressmaking to poetry to nutrition. Four Oaks Grange brought in the very first library books to the area, a rotating supply from the state library. Plus, they published a magazine— the Four Oaks Monthly— with poems, educational articles and household tips. 

Throughout this time, Four Oaks Grange and Bailey Hill Elementary School were closely connected. The school used the hall for their hot lunch programs, PTA meetings and school plays. Many other community groups used the hall, too.

Later, after the 1970s, when Granges focused on community service, Four Oaks excelled. They supported places like children’s hospitals, the Eugene Mission, Roseburg Veterans Hospital and the Red Cross. 

Children playing at old Bailey Hill School. Credit unknown. Circa 1915?