Freedom Masonic Lodge No. 118, AF & AM, Lovettsville, Virginia

Freedom Masonic Lodge No. 118, AF & AM, 28 East Broad Way, Lovettsville, Virginia

Freedom Lodge

Freedom Hall, the Lovettsville Masonic Lodge at 28 East Broad Way [255-5005; 255-5001-0024], was constructed in 1868-1869, partially destroyed in a 1923 fire, and then rebuilt. According to historic photographs, the two-story brick building originally had a gable-end roof—it now features a hipped roof. The three-bay front façade has a central six-panel door with a two-light transom flanked by six- over-six-sash, double-hung wood windows. Three of these windows are found on the second story; the central one contains closed louvered wooden shutters. All window openings have brick jack arches.

The unusual thing is that this façade is laid in stretcher-bond brick and the sides and rear in five-course American bond, a pattern also found on the New Jerusalem Church [053-0372; 255-5001-0110], suggesting perhaps the same builder. The four-bay east elevation features two doors on the end bay fronted by a concrete pad and two six-over-six-sash windows. The second floor contains four window openings– one has been bricked in. The west elevation contains four bays of windows on both stories. The rear elevation has two bays that have been bricked in on both levels. Still used as a Masonic lodge, Freedom Lodge No. 199 is a significant landmark in town and one of the few examples in the region of a 19th-century brick Masonic lodge.

An example [of Lovettsville’s revival after the Civil War] was the construction in 1868 of the Freedom Lodge or Freedom Hall [255-5005; 255-5001-0024] at 26 East Broad Way. Organized in 1866, the Masons acquired the small parcel of land on East Broad Way from Peter Fry. The ―Hall‖ on Lot 12 is depicted on the 1876 map that was drawn in connection with the re-incorporation of Lovettsville in that year.41 In subsequent years, the hall also served as a meeting place for the Red Men Lodge, the Order of United American Mechanics, the Odd Fellows, and Knights of Pythia.42 The building sustained a fire, with modifications to the earlier building dating to 1923. According to local historian, Yetive Weatherly, over the years the building was used as a post office, barber shop, school, and polling place. It stands as a symbol of the role of Lovettsville as an important social center for the region.  (Section 8, page 56).

The prominent place of Lovettsville in northern Loudoun County is attested by the frequent references to the town and its residents in the Alexandria Gazette. All entries for Lovettsville appeared under a specific heading, “Virginia News.”  …  The Knights of Pythias Lodge is mentioned in a notice from December 1900, and a Virginia legislative bill to incorporate the Pythians in Lovettsville in 1902. It is likely that the Pythians gathered in the town‘s ―Freedom Hall,‖ for their meetings.   (Section 8, page 59).

Citation:  https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Loudoun/255-5001_Lovettsville_HD_2012_NRHP_FINAL.pdf

 

See also Lovettsville Historic District

See also Lovettsville Historic District Listed On National Register of Historic Places