Restoration planned for Masonic Lodge 

Eureka Restoration Enterprise, local Masonic Lodge members and new small business Country Cottage Eureka have decided to restore the historic Masonic Lodge located at 101 North Main Street. 

The original building, the American Exchange, burned down in 1880. The Masonic Lodge was then built by James Whitton. Over the following years, the building housed several businesses, including a dry goods store, jewelry store, barber shop, bathhouse, tailor shop and tinsmith shop. In 1907, a section of the building was used as the Eureka Post Office. The Masonic Lodge received its charter in 1872 and had its first meetings in the office of Judge J. P. Adams. The Odd Fellows met and shared the building as a meeting place with the Masons. Later, the Odd Fellows membership fell so low that they joined their lodge with the one in Ely and sold the building to Eureka Masonic Lodge No. 16 for $1. It is thought to be the only underground Masonic temple in use in the United States. 

The communities of Eureka and Round Mountain helped raise over $4,000 for the restoration project during the local Eureka Restoration Enterprise Fundraiser on March 22, which featured a raffle with multiple prizes. They extend a thank you to their sponsors, Calibre Mining Company, Raine’s Market, Nancy Plaskett, Larry McMasters, Fred Manz and the band Esoteric. 

The hope is to restore the brick exterior, the remaining two vacant rooms located on the Main Street level of the building and the rear room. The basement is currently used as a meeting site. Every second Saturday at 2 p.m. the lodge is used for Masonry meetings. Masonry is the world’s first and largest fraternal organization. Their mission is to “enhance and strengthen the character of individual men by providing a moral foundation for fellowship, the betterment of humanity, and the search for truth within ourselves and the universe at large.” The Masonic Lodge is also a part of the Historic Walking Tour of Eureka.