Pomona (Cleon) Grange - Article (1883)

Thank you to Roxanne Evans McLintock for her contributions on a previous post about the Pomona Grange picnic grounds. Roxanne shared an archived newspaper article from The Grange Visitor, which mentions Clean Township and the surrounding area!

The article from the August 1, 1883 edition of The Grange Visitor reads:

"I returned a few days ago from a trip among the Granges of Manistee and Wexford counties, and then thought I would at once report to the Visitor, giving an account of my work there, the condition of the Order and also description of the country over which I passed..."

"The townships of Pleasanton, Marilla, and Cleon, are perhaps the three best townships in the county and have a large number of fine farms, with as good soil as you will find anywhere for general farming..."

"Cleon Grange has a good membership, constantly increasing, and contemplates building a hall this season which will doubtless add much to their strength."

Front page of the August 1, 1883 edition of The Grange Visitor.

Page 6 of the August 1, 1883 edition of The Grange Visitor.
The two columns on the far right reference Cleon Township and the surrounding area.

Excerpts from the article on Page 6 of The Grange Visitor.

We suspect the Cleon Grange mentioned in the article refers to the Grange Hall located near the village of Pomona on the 1896 Cleon Township plat map.

The naming convention for Granges, however, can be a bit confusing in this case. Multiple subordinate Granges in a county are often grouped together to form Pomona Granges (Pomona refers to the Roman goddess of fruit trees, gardens, and orchards).

For example, a 1927 roster of Granges in Manistee County references Pomona Grange #21 for Manistee County. Subordinate Granges within the county included Bear Lake Grange #1421, Cleon Grange #633, and Pleasanton Grange #557, to name a few. The 1927 officers listed for Cleon Grange #633 included Eva Read (Master), Gladys Williams (Lecturer), and Loren Read (Secretary), all from Copemish.

Cleon Grange #633 is also referenced in the Michigan State Grange Records archived at Michigan State University.

Based on this information, we're assuming the Cleon Grange was sometimes called the "Pomona" Grange due to it's proximity to the village of Pomona, not because it was a regional Pomona Grange.