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Acacia Lodge #94, A.F.M.
was first chartered on November 17, 1859 under the Grand Lodge of
South Carolina and has resided in the
Masonic Temple at 1518 Hampton Street since
1949, 60 of its over 150 years
of existence. But where did it meet during the years prior
to moving to the present location in 1949?
Acacia Lodge continued to
hold regular communications even during the onset of the Civil
War. During General Sherman's famous "March to the Sea" in
early 1865, his army set fire to the city of Columbia, SC on
February 17 and all the Lodge records to that time were
subsequently destroyed.
Since the Lodge records, plus all other belongings from 1859
through 1865 were lost in the burning of Columbia, minutes from
those meetings are not available. It is believed that Acacia
Lodge, Richland Lodge No 39 and True Brotherhood Lodge No 84 met
during the war years at the Masonic Hall located on the West side
of Main Street between Hampton and Washington over John H. Heise’s
confectionary store.
Just 68 days following the city's destruction, Acacia Lodge was
reopened for regular communications on April, 27, 1865
on the campus of South Carolina College with WM Robert
McDougall presiding over the meeting. At
that first meeting, Acacia Lodge was asked by Richland Lodge
to confer the Master Mason’s degree on a candidate in
waiting. This appears typical of the close relationship between
these two Lodges during this period.
In 1866, Acacia Lodge began to use the meeting hall of Palmetto
Lodge No 5, Independent Order of Odd Fellows located in the block
bounded by Lincoln, Gadsden, Washington and Hampton Streets.
By the mid-1890’s the Lodge was meeting
in a Masonic Hall on the third floor of
the Independent Steam Fire Engine Company building,
located on Washington between Main and Assembly. In addition,
Richland Lodge and Columbia Chapter No 5, Royal
Arch Masons (R.A.M.) made this
their meeting hall.
Around 1915 Richland Lodge constructed a Masonic Temple on Main
Street that replaced an earlier one that had
burned. R.L. Bryan Company occupied the first floor for a number
of years and Acacia Lodge was one of the
Masonic bodies using the facilities for meetings.
For a short period of time while the Masonic Temple was under
construction, Acacia Lodge met in the Elks House.
In the
1930’s, Acacia Lodge met at 1107 Hampton Street and later at 1726˝
Main Street. By the year, 1942,
Columbia Lodge No. 326 met at 1512 Marion; Richland Lodge at the
same location; both the York and Scottish Rites met at 1512 Marion
and both maintained offices in the Palmetto Life Building, site of
a previous Masonic Temple, located at the corner of Sumter and
Lady.
Who first championed the idea of a third Masonic Temple in
downtown Columbia remains to be discovered. Records of the Lodges
from that era show frequent dates on which visitation from the
other Lodges occurred, degree work being shared and joint
installation of officers. In addition, members of the three Lodges
would see each other at York and/or Scottish Rite meetings. Thus
it is not surprising that there was apparently wide spread support
for finding a location for another Masonic Temple.
Movement toward the dream of a Masonic Temple, began with
formation of The Square and Compass Corporation which was
chartered on February 12, 1942 with the stated purpose to: “to
own, buy and sell and to mortgage real estate – to maintain lodge
rooms for the Masonic fraternity-to perform deeds of charity and
all things incidental thereto.”
The Square and Compass Corporation original members were Richland
Lodge No. 39, Acacia Lodge, Columbia Lodge, Columbia Chapter #5
R.A.M., and the Ancient and Accepted
Scottish Rite. of Freemasonry. The first officers were: Oliver
Pennington, President, P.T. Berry, Vice-President and A.M. Pate,
Secretary/Treasurer.
On February 10, 1943, the Square and Compass Corporation purchased
the 1518 Hampton Street property from Caldwell Jones and Reaux
Jones for the sum of $5 plus other considerations. (These are not
specified in the deed but there is reason to believe the other
consideration was the property located on Marion Street used by
Richland Lodge No. 39, Columbia Lodge No. 326, Columbia Chapter
#5, RAM, and the Scottish Rite.)
Once know as Plain Street, the tract of land that eventually
became 1518 Hampton Street was sold by William H. Caldwell to
Annie Caldwell Jones for $2000 on August 3, 1892. By 1897, the
Columbia City Directory shows a home on the lot occupied by Willie
and Annie Jones. It appears that the home was sold some time in
the early 1900’s but returned to the Jones family in 1937 when
Annie Caldwell Jones purchased the home from Louise B. Kendell.
It was occupied then and remained so until 1946 by Mrs. Bessie
Petty.
The visionaries had not counted on World War II but times being
difficult at best, nothing much happened to the property until
1946. Acacia Lodge voted to give $5000 to the Square and Compass
in 1946 for the new facility on Hampton Street and $10,000 in
1947. The immediate post war years were golden years for Masonry
with all Lodges experiencing unprecedented growth and Shandon
Lodge No. 370 and Earlewood Lodge No. 371 chartered.
Earlewood Lodge had close ties to both Acacia and Richland Lodges.
Both had a number of their members demit to form Earlewood Lodge
(18 from Richland). So it was not surprising that in 1948,
Earlewood Lodge presented an appeal to use the Temple for its
Hall. The appeal was approved provided that it would be
accommodated subsequent to first choice of dates by the existing
members. Shandon Lodge rented space in
the building for a brief period while it was securing a facility.
During these years, the Square and Compass member bodies provided
funding for financing and construction of the new Masonic Temple
at 1518 Hampton St. In addition, the members approved acquiring
additional funds to complete construction through a lien on the
property.
The building was occupied by the new owners during the summer of
1949 and on September 22, 1949 it was dedicated in due form by the
MW Grand Master James F. Risher attended by a properly constituted
Grand Lodge.
The sixty years that Acacia Lodge has called 1518 Hampton home has
provided a level of stability that did not exist during its first
90 years when it met in at least 10 different locations.
Acacia Lodge #94, like the
mythical Phoenix, from the ashes of what once was
rose a stronger and more dedicated group of people
who embraced the fraternal concepts embodied in
Freemasonry: friendship. morality, and brotherly
love.
To this day the members of
Acacia Lodge continue to promote these important
fraternal concepts.
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