By T.S. Akers
The city of Muskogee traces its beginnings to the late 1820s with the establishment of the Creek Agency. After flooding in the Three Forks area damaged the agency building in 1833, the agency moved slightly to the west, though it remained north of the Arkansas River. Further flooding in 1852 led to the agency being moved south of the Arkansas River at the base of Fern Mountain.[1] It was here that Muscogee Lodge No. 93 was chartered in 1855, ushering the arrival of Freemasonry into the community.[2] The community that developed around the Creek Agency at this time included stores, a boarding house, a district courthouse, a church, and a school. Whilst most fled the Creek Agency during the Civil War, the community survived the hostilities, and many returned after the conflict.[3] When the Missouri, Kansas, & Texas Railroad (the Katy) crossed the Indian Territory along the Texas Road in 1872, they constructed a depot at the top of the grade, giving birth to the city of Muskogee. The several agencies of the Five Tribes were consolidated in 1874, becoming the Union Agency with its office constructed west of the Katy Depot on a site that came to be called Agency Hill.[4] The old Creek Agency as a community was abandoned and the city of Muskogee began to flourish, becoming known as “The Queen City of the Southwest.”[5] Freemasonry also thrived in Muskogee, a city that had a strong possibility of becoming the capital of the State of Sequoyah. To accommodate the Masonic Fraternity in Muskogee a temple worthy of the city’s stature was ultimately brought forth.
The original lodge established at the Creek Agency in 1855, Muscogee Lodge No. 93, which was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, did not return to the agency after the Civil War. Those Brethren, under the direction of lodge member George W. Stidham, resumed their Masonic pursuits at Eufaula.[6] Not far from Muskogee, at Fort Gibson, Alpha Lodge No. 122 had been chartered by the Grand Lodge of Kansas in 1872. That lodge’s original Worshipful Master was Patrick J. Byrne and it was from Alpha Lodge that Freemasonry came to the city of Muskogee.[7] Byrne was the third Grand Master of Masons of the Indian Territory and eventually made his residence in Muskogee.[8] When Muskogee Lodge No. 28 was chartered in 1888, Byrne served as the first Worshipful Master.[9] Byrne also went on to become the first Mayor of Muskogee after the city’s incorporation in 1898.[10] Additional Masonic orders followed the establishment of a Craft Lodge in Muskogee. There was Muskogee Chapter No. 3, Royal Arch Masons, chartered in 1890 and Muskogee Commandery No. 1, Knights Templar, chartered in 1892. Both orders were first led by Robert W. Hill, who was also the first man appointed as deputy for the Scottish Rite in the Indian Territory. Hill had grand plans of establishing Scottish Rite bodies in Muskogee but was unable to make that materialize.[11] A Council of Royal and Select Masters, Muskogee Council No. 2, was chartered in the city in 1894.[12]
Like in many young cities, the Masonic orders of Muskogee borrowed space for a period. Meetings were first held in the Severs Block (owned by Bro. Frederick B. Severs), but permanent space was secured on the second floor of the Turner Hardware Building in 1894 (owned by Bro. Clarence W. Turner).[13] This entire structure, like much of downtown Muskogee, was lost during The Great Fire of 1899.[14] From there, the Masonic orders had two temporary homes. The first was in the quarters of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and the second was with the Knights of Pythias. Permanent accommodation was secured by the Masons in 1900 on the third floor of a new building being financed by Clarence W. Turner, Napoleon B. Moore, and Pleasant Porter; all members of Muskogee Lodge No. 28. That building, which was located at the northwest corner of Second and Broadway Streets, became the home of the First National Bank in 1911. The bank had purchased the lower two floors, whilst the Masons owned the top floor outright.[15]
The Masonic fraternity was growing exponentially across Oklahoma in the first part of the twentieth century and Muskogee was no exception, adding the Bedouin Shrine Temple to the landscape in 1911.[16] There were just 89 members of Muskogee Lodge No. 28 in 1900.[17] By 1915 that number had grown to 295 Masons and another 105 in Oriental Lodge No. 430, which had been chartered in Muskogee in 1912.[18] Growing pains were likely becoming evident in the quarters occupied by Muskogee’s Masonic orders and in 1915 Muskogee Chapter No. 3, Royal Arch Masons stepped forward to bear the expenses of forming a Temple or Masonic Building Association. The Great War placed any plans for a new building on hold, but the effort was resumed in 1919.[19] It was announced in October of 1922 that the Masonic Building Association was in favor of constructing a new building to house all the Masonic orders of Muskogee, except the Bedouin Shrine Temple, at an estimated cost of $250,000. The association’s discussion called for meeting rooms for the various Masonic orders (which now included a third lodge, Trinity Lodge No. 502) and an auditorium for both Masonic and public use.[20] The proposed site, which the Masons had acquired, was at the corner of South Sixth and Boston Streets. This was directly north of the Bedouin Shrine Temple on property where Muscogee Principal Chief Pleasant Porter’s home was previously located.[21]
With the plans announced and land acquired for a new temple came the business of financing it. The Masonic Building Association adopted the subscription method to raise the necessary funds for the new Muskogee temple. At a widely attended meeting in February of 1923, a total of $70,000 was pledged towards the building fund. The Bedouin Shrine Temple was not asked to contribute, but they did provide $1,000 in support. With the amount of funds pledged, building chairman William F. Moffatt recommended that construction commence, but not to exceed a figure of $200,000.[22] The Muskogee architectural firm of Bassham and Howenstine was engaged in 1924, with Jewell Hicks of Oklahoma City as associate architect, to return designs for the new temple, which were presented and accepted in December of that year. The building was noted to have construction costs of $150,000 at that time, exclusive of furnishings and fixtures; the proposed site itself was valued at $25,000.[23] Construction of the temple was contracted to the Dougherty-Nichols-Wilson Construction Company and began in the spring of 1925. Contractor Ben Dougherty noted that 186 train carloads of material would go into the new temple.[24] The cornerstone for the building was laid on the 7th of May in 1925 with members of all the Masonic orders of Muskogee present to witness the occasion.[25] Working with a seventy-five-man crew, the builder estimated in September that the temple would be completed in December, excluding interior finishings. Quite the fete, this completion date was three months ahead of schedule.[26]
In what today would be called a “soft opening,” the first event to be held in the new Muskogee Masonic Temple was the installation of officers for the three Craft lodges. Held on the 26th of December in 1925, the installation ceremonies were conducted by Henry S. Johnston, Past Grand Master.[27] The temple designed by Bassham and Howenstine and Hicks is Classical Revival in style and, after all considerations, cost between $250,000 and $280,000 to erect.[28] The building, which fronts South Sixth Street, is of reinforced concrete, clad in Bedford limestone. The eastern elevation includes a flight of steps leading up to the portico, which features a colonnade of eight Doric columns, supporting an entablature. Entry to the mezzanine level lobby is gained through three steel doors. The side wings of the temple are plain, with each decorated only with a shallow, unglazed window niche. The other public entrance to the temple is along the southern elevation on Boston Street. This elevation includes glazed windows along the eastern portion of the mezzanine level and unglazed window niches along the western portion, behind which is a windowless lodge room. There is a central entrance with steps leading up to the mezzanine level and a lower entrance to the basement dining room and kitchen, which is lined with windows. The western elevation features service entrances and the northern elevation, originally concealed by another building, is devoid of ornamentation.[29]
The public really got its first glimpse of the interior of the new Muskogee Masonic Temple in February of 1926. The interior remained devoid of its furnishings at this point though, which were estimated to cost an additional $35,000. The windowless structure, which was likened to a tomb, was still being lit with temporary construction fixtures.[30] The occasion for the February opening was the annual carnival dance of the Bedouin Shrine Temple’s Drum Corps, with performances by the Gillespey Orchestra. A special feature of the affair was novelty “radio dancing,” in which attendees danced whilst listening to music via headphones.[31] The dancing was conducted in the temple’s basement dining room, which doubled as a ballroom, capable of accommodating between three to five hundred people. Following the dance, the Muskogee Daily Phoenix’s headline of the 21st of February read “Masons Unofficially Accept New Temple.” The full page spread, which included photos of the building’s interior highlighted how Muskogee’s Masonic leaders had inspected the temple and accepted the work from the builder.[32] In addition to the three lodges and the three separate entities that comprised the Muskogee York Rite Bodies, the temple’s coming residents included two chapters of the Order of the Eastern Star and Mt. Olivet Shrine No. 1 of the White Shrine of Jerusalem; along with the Order of Rainbow for girls and DeMolay for boys.[33]
Even without furnishings, the Masonic orders of Muskogee set to using their new temple. The White Shrine of Jerusalem conducted a benefit bridge tournament in late February of 1926, planning for 100 tables to be set up in the temple’s dining room. The proceeds raised were to be applied to the sum the White Shrine had pledged to the building fund.[34] This was followed by an open house for Muskogee Masons and their families on Sunday, the 21st of March.[35] Entering the new temple that day by way of the main entrance on South Sixth Street, attendees first encountered the mezzanine lobby. This space features a red and white checkered tile floor, wainscoting of Carthage marble, and is illuminated by Art Deco chandeliers. For public events in the auditorium, there is also a ticket booth in the lobby. From the south end of the lobby, the secretarial offices can be accessed. Additionally, a hall leading from the south end of the lobby first arrives at the lounge, which features a polished oak floor, fireplace, and built-in bookcases. [36] The hall proceeds around the lounge to the Boston Street entrance to the building and the south lodge room utilized by the Craft lodges. From the north end of the lobby, a hall wraps around providing access to two other lodge rooms: one for the Eastern Star and White Shrine, the other for the York Rite. The lodge room occupied by the York Rite, situated in the northwest corner of the temple, features an arched ceiling and Tudor style arched doors.[37] These medieval elements were common features of meeting rooms used by Commanderies of Knights Templar. Additionally, a stairwell leads down from the York Rite room to the armory in the basement used to house the paraphernalia of those Masonic orders.[38] Each of the three lodge rooms boast ceilings nineteen feet in height and include baclonettes from which projection equipment could be operated for Masonic ceremonies.[39] The lobby also provides access to the basement where, in addition to the dining room, a room was located for use by the youth orders.
Continuing to set the stage for public use of the building, the Muskogee Firemen’s Benefit was also held in the new Masonic temple in March of 1926.[40] This was followed by an annual dance hosted by the Order of DeMolay in June, which they hoped to make the largest yet.[41] With the interior furnishings complete, the time to welcome the public at large came on the 27th of August. Guides were on hand to escort visitors across the building as the doors were opened at 7:30 in the evening. For fifty cents, attendees could attend a party in the rooftop garden hosted by the Bedouin Shrine Temple styled “A Night in the Orient.”[42] It was reported that one thousand guests attended the public opening and whilst many would have found the lodge rooms curious, the temple’s auditorium and rooftop garden were undoubtedly the main attractions.[43] As noted earlier, the temple’s mezzanine lobby included a ticket booth for public events. It is from that lobby that access was gained to the auditorium by way of double doors on either side of the ticket booth and stairwells leading up to the balcony flanked those entry doors. The auditorium, which slopes downward toward the stage, is capable of seating 1,200.[44] The stage itself is noted to be 34 by 30 feet and the proscenium arch extends its entire width. Because the building is of reinforced concrete, the balcony included, it was able to be constructed without supporting pillars that might obstruct views.[45] At the time of its construction, the Muskogee Masonic Temple's auditorium was noted as being the second largest in the city and the Masons already had their eyes on hosting future conventions and statewide Masonic gatherings in it. The auditorium also featured a projection booth for screening films, though it was stressed that the temple would not be a “picture house.”[46] Literally crowning the temple’s public space was the rooftop garden; which featured promenade tile and 6,500 square feet of space running along the eastern and southern portions of the building.[47] To accommodate catering needs, a dumbwaiter ran from the basement kitchen to the rooftop.[48] Adding to the appeal of the temple was its air ventilation system, which was said to be ultra-modern.[49] Referred to as an “air washer,” units housed in the basement forced air into the lodge rooms and auditorium.[50] The system led the Masons to boast of their new temple as being “the coolest place in Muskogee.”[51]
The Muskogee Masonic Temple entered an active period of public use soon after its August opening. The building played host to the coronation of the Queen of the Eastern Oklahoma Playground Association in January of 1927.[52] The Association was developed to promote Eastern Oklahoma, and its lakes, as a tourist destination.[53] The coronation of Queen Norma Smallwood was to be a grand affair, calling for a sixty-five-person court of knights, pages, and ladies in waiting.[54] The annual communication of the Grand Lodge of the State of Oklahoma was hosted in the temple that February, with approximately 1,500 Masons in attendance.[55] April saw a visit from the traveling lecturer David Goldstein at the temple, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, who spoke on “Red Mexico” and the threat of bolshevism.[56] In 1928 the temple was the site of a special showcase of Muskogee’s pets. That February the Muskogee Daily Phoenix and Times-Democrat hosted the “Alley Cat and Mongrel Dog Show” for animals lacking pedigrees.[57] A traveling marionette show stopped at the temple in March with a production titled The Blue Bird.[58] Muskogee’s Little Theater Guild presented the English comedy Lillies of the Field, a three-act play, at the temple in November of 1929.[59] This was followed by a bizarre event in December presented by Rev. Carle D. Boynton, D.D. from Kansas City. Using audio equipment, Boynton intended to illustrate to intelligent, clear-thinking citizens that “spirit voices” were capable of speaking “as they did to the prophets of old.” Boynton welcomed all to witness his “audible demonstration of truth.”[60]
The economy began to shift late in the summer of 1929 with the stock market crashing that October. The economic downturn that turned into the Great Depression certainly had an impact on Freemasonry. The year 1929 ended with there being a total of 1,759 Masons on the books across the three lodges in Muskogee, granted some of those men could have belonged to more than one lodge.[61] By 1939 that number had declined to 1,204 Masons.[62] The membership decline in Muskogee Lodge No. 28 was the most severe, with a 39% decrease. There were two factors that seemed to save the Muskogee Masonic Temple from the same fate as that of the Oklahoma City Masonic Temple. The first was that the building was not heavily mortgaged, with most of the construction costs being paid for with money raised by the membership. It was noted in 1933 that the Masonic Building Association had a remaining indebtedness totaling $30,500.[63] The second factor that seems to have kept the building open was its continued use. The Tipica Orchestra of Mexico stopped at the temple in January of 1930. With two performances only, tickets were priced at $.25 for children at the matinee and $1.00 for adults at both shows.[64] A Passion Play performance by a German touring company was held at the temple in March of 1933, though the production was in English.[65] Whilst public use of the building typically involved entertainment, the tone was far more solemn in December of 1934 when services for Officer Romie H. Hinson were held there. Hinson was a Muskogee police officer, and Mason, who was killed in the line of duty responding to an argument that erupted following a traffic incident.[66] Interestingly enough, there is no mention locally of any relief efforts for the Great Depression being held at the Muskogee Masonic Temple.
As the Second World War set in, the 1940s did see the Muskogee Masonic Temple host activities for the war effort. The temple served as a production center for the Red Cross where comfort kits and sewing kits were assembled for servicemen. The comfort kits included things such as shaving items, tobacco, and games. Additionally, volunteers knitted sweaters and jeep caps at the temple.[67] During the 88th Infantry Division’s short stay at nearby Camp Gruber for training in 1943, a luncheon was held monthly for the officers’ wives in the temple dining room.[68] The Veterans of Foreign Wars held a party for servicemen at the temple in July of 1944.[69] And when the war led to a heating gas shortage in Muskogee during the winter of 1943, all Masonic meetings at the temple were cancelled.[70] Other events for entertainment also continued at the temple through the 1940s. The famous big game hunter and animal collector Frank Buck spoke at the temple in January of 1943. Noted for bringing over 100,000 live specimens back to the United States, including a king cobra for the Bronx Zoo, Buck’s presentation included a film of his travels.[71] The following month, the Trapp Family Choir visited the temple for a concert; that is the Baron Georg von Trapp family on whom the musical The Sound of Music was based.[72] The singer Maria Gambarelli of New York’s Metropolitan Opera also performed at the temple in 1943.[73]
The 1950s marked a renewal in Masonic membership in Oklahoma and Muskogee certainly benefited from this. By the end of the decade, there were 2,637 Masons in Muskogee with 1,243 of them in Oriental Lodge alone.[74] It was in the following decade that Masonic decline set in with the total number of Masons in Muskogee slipping to 2,155 by 1969, an 18% decrease.[75] The Muskogee Masonic Temple continued to enjoy Masonic use, but the 1950s saw some of the final instances of public use for the building. In what may have been the final performance held in the auditorium, the temple hosted a return of prima ballerina Marina Svetlova in February of 1950. Svetlova, part of the company of the Metropolitan Opera of New York, was touring with Robert Roland of the Ballet Russe.[76] Perhaps what was one of the last non-Masonic assemblies in the temple was the annual Rougher Banquet, held by the Jaycees in January of 1954. The mascot of Muskogee High School is the Roughers, which is a representation of an oil roughneck. The guest speaker at the banquet that evening was University of Oklahoma football coach Bud Wilkinson, who had won a National Championship with his team in 1950.[77] In the years to come, the temple’s auditorium mostly sat vacant; rendered nearly unusable by a combination of factors. The original stage fittings were never replaced as the building aged, the original narrow theatre seats remained, and modern air conditioning was never installed in the auditorium.
The Muskogee Masonic Temple survives as a Masonic meeting hall today largely through its continued use by the Masons of Muskogee. Whilst some of the temple’s features, such as the rooftop garden, are distant memories, much of the building remains as usable today as it was in the 1920s. The temple was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014, an effort which the membership assisted with in preparing the nomination.[78] Such listings with the National Register of Historic Places not only provide a permanent record of the given location but help to protect those locations for the future. Today the temple is undergoing modest preservation efforts led by the Masonic bodies of Muskogee and the building stands as a testament to the golden age of American fraternalism, the period during which it was constructed. Though the sun may have set on Muskogee's moniker as "The Queen City of the Southwest," the Masonic temple that was brought forth is certainly one that represents the city's former stature well.
