LeRoy Heritage Museum

About Us:

The LeRoy Heritage Museum is housed in the former Open Hand Grange hall in the center of LeRoy. This building has played an important roll in LeRoy for many years.Open Hand Grange #153 was organized on March 9, 1874 by District Deputy S.W. Buck of LeRaysville with 30 charter members.

The name of this grange was suggested by A.T. Lilley. During these early years of the organization, meetings were held at various places in the community. The members vowed that if they ever had a hall of their own, they would extend their "open hand" to anyone who wanted to use it.

The Open Hand Grange began holding meetings in the upper room of the Open Hand Hall Association building (the town hall), shortly after its construction in 1876. It was designed by F.J. Bailey and built at a cost of between $1,300 and $1,400. The grange purchased the building in 1904.

The first floor of the hall was rented to community groups, and also used for traveling shows. A grange mercantile store, and library were once housed here as well as the LeRoy Post Office at one time. The most noticeable aspect of the building is the beautiful wainscoting on the first floor. This wainscoting, which covers the walls from floor to ceiling, was cut in a local sawmill and installed 100 years ago.The old building represents the vital role that agricuture played in the history of LeRoy.