The Rebirth of Hessel Grange

Locals from Sebastopol and Cotati are bringing the dormant Hessel Grange back to life

A new, multigenerational group of folks from different walks of life are working together to breathe new life into the historic Hessel Grange—in much the same way that the Sebastopol Grange on Highway 12 was brought back as a vibrant community center and rural lifestyle learning hub in 2008.

Following a series of exploratory talks and meet-and-greets attended by dozens of rural Sebastopol and Cotati residents over the last several months at the Hessel Grange Hall, a formal organizing meeting is planned for Tuesday, June 16. At that meeting, California State Grange officials will oversee the re-chartering of the Hessel Grange with the adoption of new bylaws, election of officers and the opening of a new membership list.

Big plans are already being discussed for a summer open house at the Hessel Grange property on Blank Road, and excitement is building over launching a series of workshops around farming, gardening, crafts, wellness, and other topics.

Some of the Hessel folks have been involved in the Sebastopol Grange and hope to copy its successful garden-produce exchanges, monthly potluck dinners, mending circles and other activities. Like the Sebastopol Grange, they plan on funding some of their activities and the upkeep of the hall through renting the building for parties and other community events.

“We’re excited. We’ve been meeting with so many great people with all these useful skills and backgrounds,” said Hannah Saunders, a newer Hessel area resident who said she is willing to take on a leadership role at the new grange. “People seem to have a huge need to re-connect and actually get to know your neighbor.”

“Many of us are small farmers and people looking to get more involved in the community,” nearby Cotati resident Jim Crawford told the Sebastopol Times. “Our meetings have been well attended, and we’re looking forward to getting in here and getting lots of work done.”

Crawford and his wife, Amy, who own Heritage Farm Florals, plan to move their membership from the Sebastopol Grange to Hessel, which is closer to their home.

The 1950s-era Hessel Grange Hall sits on an acre of land with pasture and mature trees. There is a picnic grove and outdoor stage with a screened barbecue/cooking shelter. Many “deferred maintenance” projects—including the building’s dated interior—await the new grange members’ efforts.

“I look forward to putting a breath of fresh air in the place,” said Crawford, envisioning a shared garden plot or demonstration plantings. The Canfield 4-H Club continues to hold its monthly meetings at the Hessel Grange Hall.

The original Grange movement began in 1867 as part of the American agrarian revolts of the late 19th century. The Grange lobbied state legislatures and Congress for laws to protect farmers—more than 50% of the workforce back then—from price gouging by railroads and middlemen, the groups farmers relied on to get their produce to the cities. Although Grange membership was historically made up of farmers, Granges have always played a broader role as a community gathering place for rural communities. The official name of the national grange organization is The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry. It is considered the oldest agricultural advocacy group in the nation.

There are seven other Grange halls in Sonoma County: Bodega Bay, Bennett Valley, Rincon Valley and Windsor are still active, while the granges in Cloverdale, Sonoma Valley and Geyserville are listed as inactive. The Bennett Valley Grange Hall, located just east of Santa Rosa and built in 1873, is considered the oldest in the nation. The Sebastopol Grange was chartered in 1898.

At the upcoming June 16 meeting, the Hessel group must adopt a set of bylaws and elect seven officers. The bylaws must include a membership dues chart and other text that must be approved by the State Grange. Joseph Stefanoni, the current president of the California State Grange, will preside over the meeting. Stefanoni is a current Petaluma resident and former president of the Sebastopol Grange, prior to its newest iteration.

“For the most part, I think we can write bylaws to include anything we want,” said Crawford, adding the Hessel group wants to follow the original Grange idea of supporting farmers and a rural lifestyle. “We need to let people know what we do and what’s in it for them.”

Located just south of Sebastopol, the rural hamlets of Hessel, Canfield and Blucher Valley are dotted with small dairy farms, rural homesteads and a web of curvy country roads serving many long private lanes. Though the rural landscape of the area has remained the same over several generations, the energy and membership of the Hessel Grange have ebbed and flowed.

There have been two attempts over the last 25 years to revivify the Hessel Grange. According to a 2014 article in the Press Democrat, Beth Lewis and friends restarted the Hessel Grange in 2008. This effort seems to have run successfully for a while, then closed. In 2019, Hessel Grange was reopened with a focus on cannabis—Sonoma County’s other big agrarian business. Led by local cannabis grower Vince Scholten, a small group of like-minded pot advocates re-purposed the Hessel Grange to do public advocacy for the changing cannabis industry in the wake of the passage of Prop. 64 in 2016, which legalized the adult use of marijuana.

Scholten and the previous Hessel Grange members were prominent participants in the county Board of Supervisors’ hearings focused on setting land use rules for expanded commercial cannabis grows and processing establishments. Following the last rounds of county government cannabis hearings, the Scholten’s Hessel group apparently dispersed. The Hessel Grange website is currently “parked” and reads “under construction.”

Meanwhile, the Sebastopol Grange continues to thrive. Membership is now at about 140, according to current chaplain and former chapter president Lawrence Jaffe. Annual dues are $60, but many of the grange events are open to the public for free or with occasional single-event admission. The Sebastopol Grange building on Highway 12, east of Sebastopol, is also the site of regular meetings of the Sonoma County Folk Society, Sonoma County Mycological Association, a writer’s group, yoga and exercise classes and other activities. (A full calendar can be found at sebastopolgrange.com.)

There doesn’t seem to be any competition between the two groups, however.

“We hope we can have a very symbiotic relationship with the Sebastopol Grange,” said Hessel Grange organizer Hannah Saunders.

About the efforts to reorganize the Hessel Grange, Jaffe said, “Sebastopol Grange is very interested in supporting the revitalization of Hessel. We’re interested in offering whatever we can to help. We’ve had our team look at it to see if there are any tasks we could take on if we were asked.”

The Hessel Grange organization meeting on June 16 is scheduled to begin at 6:30 pm and is open to the public. The Hessel Grange is located at 5400 Blank Road.

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