Freemasonry

 

The history of Freemasonry in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, closely parallels the county's geographic expansion, shifting population centers, and major economic eras—moving from early agricultural settlements to timber-boom towns.

Because Freemasonry in Western Virginia pre-dates the Civil War, local lodges initially operated under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Virginia before transitioning to the Grand Lodge of West Virginia after its founding in Fairmont in 1865.

Key Historical Lodges in Pocahontas County

1. Huntersville Masonic Lodge No. 65 (Huntersville)

As the original county seat established in 1821, Huntersville was the early civic and fraternal hub of Pocahontas County.

• The Shared Building: One of the most famous architectural legacies of Freemasonry in the county is the Huntersville Presbyterian Church and Masonic Hall.
• Originally constructed as a single-story sanctuary in 1854, the congregation entered into a formal agreement with Huntersville Lodge No. 65 in 1895–1896.
• The Masons funded and built a second-floor addition to serve as their lodge room, along with a three-story central bell tower. This dual-use building stands today and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

2. Pocahontas Lodge No. 121 A.F. & A.M. (Hillsboro / Little Levels)

Serving the southern portion of the county in the Little Levels district, Pocahontas Lodge No. 121 became a key civic institution for local agricultural leaders, merchants, and community officials.

3. Riverside Lodge No. 124 A.F. & A.M. (Cass)

When the West Virginia Spruce Lumber Company established the boomtown of Cass in 1901 to harvest the rich red spruce reserves of Cheat Mountain, the sudden influx of rail workers, mill hands, and executives led to the chartering of a lodge in the northern part of the county.

• Chartered around 1902, Riverside Lodge No. 124 operated directly within the company town.
• Its lodge hall was located in downtown Cass (near the main hotel and railroad yard) and served as a central meeting space during the height of the early 20th-century logging era.

4. Marlinton Lodge No. 127 A.F. & A.M. (Marlinton)

After the county seat moved from Huntersville to Marlinton in the 1890s following the arrival of the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railway, Marlinton Lodge No. 127 was established as the primary lodge for the new municipal center.

• Members of Marlinton No. 127 were involved in civic and public rites across the county.
• A notable historical example includes ceremonial stone-layings, such as laying the cornerstone for the Pocahontas County Board of Education building in Marlinton.

Civic Role & Cultural Impact

Historically, local Masonic lodges in Pocahontas County fulfilled several prominent functions:

1. Public Rites & Cornerstone Ceremonies: Performing ceremonial cornerstone layings for public buildings, schools, and civic structures.
2. Cross-Community Membership: Local lodge rosters frequently included prominent county figures—such as prosecuting attorneys, town mayors, school leaders, and physicians—making them influential spaces for local governance networking.
3. Shared Facilities: In rural mountain communities, lodges often shared construction costs with churches or local academies (like in Huntersville), reflecting the shared social role of church and fraternal organizations in 19th-century Appalachia.  

While Freemasonry and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) share many superficial similarities—both being historic fraternal organizations using secret rituals, symbolic regalia, degrees, and lodge systems—they originated in different eras to serve distinct societal purposes.

Here is how the two orders historically diverged in their core focus, philosophy, and membership structure:

1. Core Mission and Philosophical Focus

• Freemasonry (Philosophical & Moral Self-Improvement):
  • Focus: Moral philosophy, personal character building, and intellectual enlightenment.
  • Motto/Principles: Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.
  • Theme: Operates heavily around the architectural imagery of King Solomon’s Temple and the stone-mason craft. The goal is to symbolically "chisel" the individual member (the rough ashlar) into a better person (the perfect ashlar) to build a better society.
• Odd Fellows (Practical Benevolence & Mutual Aid):
  • Focus: Practical charity, social safety nets, and community relief.
  • Motto/Command: "Visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead, and educate the orphan."
  • Theme: Founded during the Industrial Revolution, the IOOF acted as an early form of mutual insurance for working-class laborers before modern government welfare or healthcare existed. Members paid dues into a collective fund to cover medical care, funeral costs, and support for widowed families.

2. Origins and Social Class Roots

Feature	Freemasonry	Odd Fellows (IOOF)
Historical Roots	Evolved from medieval stonemasons' guilds into organized Grand Lodges in England (1717).	Emerged in 18th-century England (formalized in US in 1819) among miscellaneous working-class trades.
Social Class Base	Historically attracted aristocrats, politicians, military officers, and civic leaders.	Founded by and for working-class tradesmen ("odd jobs") excluded from elite guilds.
Symbolic Basis	Architecture, geometry, and stonecutting tools (Square, Compasses, Plumb).	Chain links (Friendship, Love, Truth), the All-Seeing Eye, and the Heart in Hand.

3. Admission of Women

• Freemasonry:
  • Traditional mainstream Freemasonry (under Grand Lodges descended from the United Grand Lodge of England) remains strictly all-male.
  • While female-associated bodies exist (such as the Order of the Eastern Star, founded in the 1850s for female relatives of Masons), women cannot be initiated as regular Freemasons in traditional jurisdictions.
• Odd Fellows:
  • The IOOF was a pioneer in female fraternal participation. In 1851, it created the Daughters of Rebekah degree, making it the first major American fraternal order to officially admit women into a recognized branch.
  • By the late 20th century, the IOOF fully integrated its lodges, allowing women to become full Odd Fellows alongside men in the main lodge system.

4. Religious and Theological Requirements

• Freemasonry:
  • Requires a candidate to express a belief in a Supreme Being (referred to non-sectarianly as the Great Architect of the Universe).
  • It generally avoids discussing specific sectarian theology in the lodge, but the requirement of a monotheistic faith or higher power is a strict landmark of regular Masonry.
• Odd Fellows:
  • Also requires a belief in a Supreme Being / Creator, but historically placed slightly less emphasis on esoteric, quasi-religious symbolism compared to the extensive ritual degrees of Masonry. The focus remained more heavily anchored to civic duty and practical altruism.

Summary

In short, if a town in the 19th or early 20th century had both a Masonic Lodge and an Odd Fellows Hall:

• The Masonic Lodge was often where local civic leaders gathered for philosophical instruction, fraternity, and moral development using ancient builder symbolism.
• The Odd Fellows Hall was where working families pooled resources to ensure that if a worker was injured, sick, or passed away, their family would not be left destitute.