Question: who founded the grange what was its original purpose

title: National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry
text: President Andrew Johnson commissioned Oliver Kelley to go to the Southern states and to collect data to improve Southern agricultural conditions . In the South , poor farmers bore the brunt of the Civil War and were suspicious of Northerners like Kelley . Kelley found he was able to overcome these sectional differences as a Mason . With Southern Masons as guides , he toured the war - torn countryside in the South and was appalled by the outdated farming practices . He saw the need for an organization that would bring people from the North and South together in a spirit of mutual cooperation and , after many letters and consultations with the other founders , the Grange was born . The first Grange , Grange # 1 , was founded in 1868 in Fredonia , New York . Seven men and one woman co-founded the Grange : Oliver Hudson Kelley , William Saunders , Francis M. McDowell , John Trimble , Aaron B. Grosh , John R. Thompson , William M. Ireland , and Caroline Hall . 

Answer: answer: Oliver Kelley toured the war-torn countryside in the South and was appalled by the outdated farming practices.  He saw the need for an organization that would bring people from the North and South together in a spirit of mutual cooperation, the Grange was born. Seven men and one woman co-founded the Grange: Oliver Hudson Kelley, William Saunders, Francis M. McDowell, John Trimble, Aaron B. Grosh, John R. Thompson, William M. Ireland, and Caroline Hall.