The Guiding Star Grange, located in Greenfield, Massachusetts

Greenfield, Massachusetts

Greenfield is a city in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,456 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Community College, the Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Franklin County Fair...

, was the first grange

Grange movement

The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, also simply styled the Grange, is a fraternal organization for American farmers that encourages farm families to band together for their common economic and political well-being...

 organized in the state in 1873. It is one of the few local Grange associations in New England with a steadily growing membership and vibrant community.

The grange hall serves the town and the region with a variety of community uses. It is most well known for the traditional music

Traditional music

Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...

 and social dance

Social dance

Social dance is a major category or classification of danceforms or dance styles, where sociability and socializing are the primary focuses of the dancing...

 events held nearly every Friday and Saturday night. It is a widely known regional center for contra dance

Contra dance

Contra dance refers to several partnered folk dance styles in which couples dance in two facing lines...

events.

Recent improvements

One of the most recent improvement includes a very large rear entry stairway and accessibility elevator. A new kitchen was also added in the last few years and finally opened up in September '06. The Grange has also opened fully handicapped accessible bathrooms on both the upper and lower levels. The downstairs restrooms were also re-modeled in the process.