The Rock Hill Herald reported on June 17, 1886 – “The Masons of Anderson contemplating tearing down the present Masonic Building and erecting a larger and more substantial one on the same site. The ground floor will have two large stores, the second floor a meeting hall and the third a lodge room.”
City Directories and History: 1905 – EVANS & SHARPE (J.M. Evans and N.B. Sharpe) mngrs Anderson Opera House, 118 East Benson, 1909 – Anderson Opera House, Masonic Temple, Martin and Earle, W.J. King (Physician), J.M. Beck mngr, 118 East Benson,
The Hiram Lodge No 68 is listed as contributing property of the Anderson Downtown Historical District.
Lodge History by Jake O. Phillips, P.M.
The first regular communication of Hiram #68 was held on the first Monday of November 1847, with seven members present.
The meeting took place in the rear of the Courthouse located on the east side of the square, near the front of what is now known as the Bailes Building, and were held there for several years.
The first Hiram Masonic Temple was erected at the current location by John T. Sloan from the plans and specifications submitted by John B. Wynne and opened while still uncompleted in May 1856. According to the Anderson Gazette the cornerstone was laid on Friday Oct.12, 1855.
The first meeting in the completed lodge room was held on Feb.7, 1859.
The lodge’s small auditorium was Anderson’s first theater, which was henceforth used for plays, lectures, debates and other entertainments.
This building was also used to house Anderson’s first hospital, established during the War Between the States by the Ladies Hospital Association. When troops passed through, they were met by committees carrying refreshment for the troops. Clothing was made for the soldiers; boxes of food were packed and sent whenever it was possible. Many of these ladies’ husbands, fathers and sons had gone to fight in the war, many did not return.
After the war the small auditorium in the lodge was the only theater house in Anderson and as the town grew it became inadequate. Anderson people of that day were not without amusement, traveling players frequently came for a week or more, and if their performance was too elaborate to be given in the Masonic Hall, tents were set up large enough to accommodate the crowds, and with stages that could display the drama.
The Yorkville Enquirer reported on Nov. 27, 1879 – “The Knights of Honor at Anderson have determined to erect a building to contain two large store rooms on the first floor and an opera hall and lodge room on the second floor.”
In the early 1880’s the members tore down the 1856 temple and put up a new one on the same location. It contained Anderson’s first Opera House, believed to be adequate for years to come.
The first meeting was held in the present building Dec.6, 1889.
From the Anderson Intelligencer, Thursday June 27, 1889.
The Hiram # 68 Masonic Temple when completed will fronts 65 feet on the Court House Square, and be 90 feet deep. It will be three and one-half stories high, with a mansard roof. The first floor will contains the entrances to the floors above and two commodious store rooms with large cellars underneath. The front of the second story is to be divided into four small rooms, with a ticket office and a lobby, from which you enter the Opera House, which will have a ceiling 26 feet high, and is to be 45 feet wide by 65 deep, a gallery will extend around the walls.
On the third floor will be the Lodge Room, which is to be 33 feet wide by 50 feet deep, and surrounded by six small anterooms. The building, when completed, will cost about $12,000.00, and will be one of the handsomest and most substantial buildings in this section of the state. Mr. A. W. Todd, of Augusta, Ga. is the Architect of the building, and Messrs. Moss & Jackson were awarded the building contract.”
In the course of time as the city grew the size of the opera house once again became inadequate. And in 1913-1914 when Mr. J.S. Fowler President of the Anderson Development Company built a handsome new theater on Whitner Street, it was later called the State Theater and is now the Alverson Center Theater. The opera house was no longer a profitable endeavor, thus the members over time, 1916-17 and on renovated their building, greatly improving and beautifying it for their own use.
And over time the first and second floors were internally reconstructed and both converted to rental property.
The opera house was remodeled and became the lodge room proper. The original lodge room was converted into the fellowship hall.
The stairwells were reworked, and the means of ingress and regress for all who use the building was somewhat modified.
In the early 1950s the members began to see the need to update the aging front of the building. Ledbetter and Earle Architects submitted the plans July 25, 1952, Cromer and Sullivan Contractors.
Marker Inscription:
This is the second Masonic Temple to occupy this location. After its organization in 1848, Hiram Lodge No. 68 met in the second story of a store building on the east side of the square for several years. The first temple was erected at this location in 1866. Its small auditorium was Anderson’s first theater. The building also was used to house Anderson first hospital established during the Civil War as the Ladies Hospital Association. The present temple, once topped by a cupola, was dedicated with elaborate ceremonies in 1889. Its meeting hall served as Anderson’s first opera house and civil auditorium. Plays presented by traveling stick companies and other cultural events took place here.
1776 ABC – ABBA 1976
This marker was one of several that was placed on key historical buildings in downtown Anderson in 1976 as part of the city’s bi-centennial celebration.
Additional Links:
- Under the Kudzu: The Hiram Lodge No 68
- Masonic Temple — 1889 (Historical Marker)
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