This Grange Hall was built in 1874 as a meeting place for the Pintlala Chapter of the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry. This organization, founded in 1867, promoted economic, social, and cultural improvement for farmers and their families and was one of the first national groups to include women as members. Pintlala, a rural community in the southern part of Montgomery County, struggled after the Civil War with the changing economic and social systems throughout the South. This chapter of the Grange was organized to help find solutions to the problems faced by farmers in the area. They allowed women to be individual members as well. One goal of the Grange was to encourage crop diversification to include more food crops and therefore not depend as much on the production of cotton, which was a very important cash crop in Alabama. Another focus was to establish a labor system based on wages instead of share-cropping, which had evolved after the end of slavery.
The last state meeting of the Grange was held in the Pintlala Grange Hall in 1892. It served as a school up until 1922 and later as a residence, a library and a community meeting place.
Built with the warm southern climate in mind, the Grange Hall has tall ceilings and large windows to open for air and light. The small ante-room served as an entry way for meetings and later would have been a cloakroom. The ceiling and walls are constructed of wide horizontal boards.
Landmarks Foundation moved Grange Hall to Old Alabama Town in 1979, and here it continues to house exhibits, children’s programs, and social activities.
