Concord Lodge No. 48 A.F. & A.M.

Since 1871 the Lodge has had Three Permanent Meeting Places

Continued from Community.

FIRST LODGE HALL

On April 25, 1871, James R. Vermillion and his wife Elizabeth, Deeded to Benjamin Fanning, William H. Martin, William Holroyd, Milton M. Belcher, Herbert B. Barbor and Benjamin White, Trustees, a lot, with an unfinished building thereon, lying in the Town of Concord and consisting of one-half First Lodge Hallacre.  For some reason, this same plot of land, on October 16, 1893, was Deeded again to Herbert B. Barbor, G. S. Oxley, A. M. Danieley, S. R. Oxley and R. N. Vermillion, Trustees, by Stephen T. Vermillion and his wife Rhoda.

It was in this building, when completed, that Concord Lodge No. 48 had its first Lodge Hall.  The building was a two-story, log-constructed building approximately thirty feet long and twenty feet wide.  On the first story, there was a twenty by twenty-foot room with a fireplace, and there was a room of the same size on the second story.  A ten-foot hallway with a stairway was at one end of the building.

Provisions in the Deed were that the Masonic Lodge shall have exclusive use of the second story of the building and that the first story, if so desired, shall be used as a meeting place for the Independent Order of Good Templars and as a school room, whenever necessary, for the benefit of the community and the people of the Town of Concord.

This building is now located at 105 Old Hinton Road in the Town of Athens.

SECOND LODGE HALL

As the membership of the Lodge continued to grow, there was a growing need for a larger Lodge Hall in which to meet.  Steps toward fulfilling this need were taken in 1896.  The officers of the Lodge in 1896 were:  D. H. Thornton, W. M.;  J. D. Sweeney, S. W.;  B. T. Vermillion, J. D.;  G. B. Sinclair, Second Lodge HallTreasurer;  Samuel R. Holroyd, Secretary;  John A. Gore, S. D.;  J. P. Campbell, J. D.;  and A. M. Williams, Tiler.  Membership of the Lodge was 48.

At a meeting of the Lodge on October 17, 1896, a building committee reported that the Lodge’s present building and lot were sold to William Houchins and wife, and that half of the purchase price by Mr. Houchins was to be payable in work by two skilled workmen in the early part of the Spring of 1897.  Also, the Committee reported that a contract for materials and construction of a new hall on a lot opposite P. W. Massie’s Store would be made in the near future.  At a meeting on January 16, 1897, the Trustees reported a Deed from Mrs. Mary E. Barker for a lot, which was apparently adjacent to a lot previously owned by the Lodge, by Deed from F. A. Bolin and J. E. Frazier, dated December 25, 1893.

Apparently, work on the new building started in the early Spring of 1897 and was completed later during the same year.  The building was a two-story frame building with the Lodge Hall in the second story and a storeroom on the first story.

THIRD LODGE HALL

In January of 1936, a fire damaged the Lodge Hall in such a manner that it could not be used.  The Lodge held a meeting in the Concord Training School Building, during which it was decided to accept an invitation by the Princeton Lodge No. 134 to hold meetings in its Hall until a definite place Third Lodge Hallto hold meetings could be secured.  The officers of Concord Lodge No. 48 during this difficult period were:  Fred S. Rogers, W. M.;  Ralph E. Klingensmith, S. W.;  Frank B. Parker, J. W.;  Fred V. Cooper, Treasurer;  S. Edgar Via, Secretary;  J. Harry Parker, S. D.;  William L. Williams, J. D.;  and Robert G. Oxley, Tiler.  At this time, the Lodge had 169 members.

At a meeting of the Lodge on February 22, 1936, the membership discussed the proposal of a new building.  A building committee was appointed, and it was ordered to secure architectural designs of a building, to dispose of the present building to the best advantage, and to proceed with the construction of the building by contracting where it thought best.  Also, financial arrangements were to be made to finance the project.

Work got started on the new building almost immediately, and by the time the cornerstone was laid on April 27, 1936, the building was well on its way toward completion.

With the help of many of its members and friends, the Lodge held its first meeting in the new Lodge Hall on October 10, 1936.  Officers at this meeting were:  Ralph E. Klingensmith, W. M.;  Frank B. Parker, S. W.;  Raymond A. Coffey, J. W.;  Fred V. Cooper, Treasurer;  S. Edgar Via, Secretary;  William L. Williams, S. D.;  Basil W. Beckett, J. D.;  and Robert G. Oxley, Tiler.

At this meeting, members of the Lodge expressed the highest appreciation to Worshipful Master Ralph E. Klingensmith for the excellent lights and furniture he made for the Lodge Hall, and he and Brother Bibbee were given a vote of thanks for the nice altar they made.  All members of the Lodge that evening must have felt much satisfaction for knowing of the contributions they made to bring the project to a successful completion and for feeling that they now had one of the finest Lodge Halls in the State of West Virginia.

PAST MASTERS OF CONCORD LODGE NO. 48 A. F. & A. M.

Herbert B. Barbor (1871), Robert Gore (1872), James M. Killey (1873), Stephen T. Vermillion (1874), John B. Hearn (1875), John B. Hearn (1876), James M. Killey (1877), James F. Holroyd (1878), Herbert B. Barbor (1879) Herbert B. Barbor (1880), Herbert B. Barbor (1881), Levi L. Hearn (1882), George W. Devor (1883), Gaston A. Shumate (1884), George W. Devor (1885), James F. Holroyd (1886), James F. Holroyd (1887), James F. Holroyd (1888), L. Chester Robinson (1889), L. Chester Robinson (1890), John A. Gore (1891), John A. Gore (1892), John A. Gore (1893), Charles A. Fulwider (1894), Charles A. Fulwider (1895), David H. Thornton (1896), John D. Sweeney (1897), David H. Thornton (1898), George W. Devor (1899), Charles T. Daniels (1900), Samuel R. Holroyd (1901), Robert N. Vermillion (1902), George S. Oxley (1903), L. Allen Martin (1904), L. Allen Martin (1905), Harry D. Karnes (1906), John K. Peck (1907), Herbert B. Barbor, Jr. (1908), Benjamin T. Vermillion (1909), Albert H. Oxley (1910), Robert G. Oxley (1911), James P. Campbell (1912), Wilson I. Gautier (1913), James U. Bird (1914), Elbert Vermillion (1915), Elbert Vermillion (1916), Elbert Vermillion (1917), B. Brown Scott (1918), Uriah Vermillion (1919), Wilson I. Gautier (1920), Uriah Vermillion (1921), Wilson I. Gautier (1922), Arthur B. Moore (1923), B. Claude Bird (1924), S. Edgar Via (1925), Benjamin H. Reed (1926), Benjamin H. Reed (1927), Charles H. Archer (1928), Dorsie G. Martin (1929), Fred V. Cooper (1930), Raymond A. Coffey (1931), Joseph Walthall (1932), Thomas A. Beckett (1933), James E. Williams (1934), Fred S. Rogers (1935), Ralph E. Klingensmith (1936), Ralph E. Klingensmith (1937), Frank B. Parker (1938), Otie A. Lytton (1939), William L. Williams (1940), Ralph E. Klingensmith (1941), Benjamin H. Reed (1942), Thomas A. Beckett (1943), Samuel G. Williamson (1944), Benjamin H. Reed (1945), John W. Goodall (1946), Charles K. Baxter (1947), J. Harry Parker (1948), J. Harry Parker (1949), J. Harry Parker (1950), Carl Mann (1951), Curtis C. Anderson (1952), Clarence P. Oxley (1953), Clarence P. Oxley (1954), Robert E. Wright (1955), Clarence F. Lilly (1956), James K. Edmonds (1957), Homer K. Ball (1958), Mack H. Belcher (1959), A. Allen Wiley (1960), James M. Bowling (1961), Perry W. Hill (1962), James L. Gore (1963), A. Allen Wiley (1964), George W. Keatley (1965), George W. Keatley (1966), William J. Hartman (1967), Otis R. Mann (1968), Jack B. Terry (1969), Jack B. Terry (1970), James L. Gore (1971), Chester A. Pettrey (1972), Charles H. Mann (1973), Charles H. Mann (1974), Charles H. Mann (1975), Charles H. Mann (1976), Robert M. Belcher (1977), Robert M. Belcher (1978), Robert M. Belcher (1979), Robert M. Belcher (1980), David C. Klingensmith (1981), David C. Klingensmith (1982), F. Joseph Parker (1983), F. Joseph Parker (1984), James B. Kahle (1985).

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