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Pinnacle Grange remembered

LYNDEBOROUGH – At their annual meeting on May 28, the Historic District Commission approved the placement of a sign with the history of Pinnacle Grange on the outside of the Town Hall. The sign was commissioned by the Heritage Commission as part of their on-going series of historic markers.

The sign will be placed on the right side of the front of the hall, even with the sign on the left that commemorates the three maple trees along the driveway. Those trees were planted in 1976 and dedicated to the three New Hampshire signers of the Declaration of Independence.

A recently restored “Pinnacle Grange No. 18” sign will be returned to its former place on the front of the hall, between the windows under the Town Hall sign. The refurbishing of the sign was undertaken by the Heritage Commission. The sign had been removed when the hall was painted.

Pinnacle Grange, the 18th chapter in New Hampshire, was organized in 1873 with 17 members. Over the next 100 years, the Grange did much for the town hall including the addition of an upstairs dining hall and kitchen. They probably commissioned the recently restored hand-painted stage backdrop which dates to the 1930s.

Grange members held dinners, lectures, musical performances, and square dances in keeping with their goal of improving the cultural life of rural residents. Pinnacle Grange relinquished its charter in the early 1970s following a decline in membership.

Town meetings were moved from the Town Hall to the larger Citizens’ Hall in South Lyndeborough in the 1960s. Restrooms were added in the 1980s, and later a full kitchen. It is now a community center used from mid-April to Veterans’ Day for town celebrations and by organizations such as the Quilters’ Guild. It can be rented for private events.

The Historic District extends along the south side of Center Road from the church to the Center Cemetery and includes the former town highway barn. The church, town pound, and town hall are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a district. The district was established by town meeting with the goal of “preserving the character of Lyndeborough Center.” It is overseen by an appointed board of commissioners.