Town of Front Royal Historic Resources Survey Report

On pages 70, 74 and 75, we find that the Masonic Hall was previously called “the Hansbrough residence” which was a Queen-Anne style residence. It has had sections added to the front and back of the house. The rear of the Masonic Hall was being used by the Warren County government as ancillary office space. The office doors facing the courthouse green were nicknamed “layer’s row”.

On page 91, we learn that the Masonic Hall was located at 107 East Main Street, and that prior to it’s construction, the property was occupied by the Calvary Episcopal Church built in the mid 1850’s and burned in 1892.

On page 98, we find another reference to the Masonic Hall being located at 107 East Main Street built in the 1890s and 1950s due to additions/remodeling.

Also on Page 98, we see mention of the location for the International Order of Oddfellows in the old public school building. Although not mentioned here – it is of note that the Masons, Order of Odd Fellows, and two other secret societies had agreed on October 7, 1876 (Acts of 1886-7 Ch. 126) to construct the third floor of the school building and lease it from the school district jointly. From this information, we can deduce that prior to building the Masonic Hall, Unity Lodge No. 146 was previously holding meetings at 21-23 South Royal Avenue on the third floor.

Page 98-99 also makes note of the Methodist Church construction in 1904 where the Masonic Lodge is not indicated. There are two possible locations that this could be. The Lodge suffered a fire on April 12, 1914 (Shenandoah Herald) on the third floor of the Murphy Opera House. The question stands – when did the Lodge move from the old school house into the Opera House? We also see that Dr. M. F. Hansbrough had a connection to the Masons in that he attended the stone laying of the Methodist Episcopal Church on August 2, 1905 (Alexandria Gazette, The Sunday Star, Richmond Times-Dispatch). Again, we see that the house was enlarged in the 1920’s. A page from the Manufacturers Record for November 12, 1925 shows that there was a contract to remodel the building after purchasing the R. E. Purdum property in March 1925 (Richmond Times-Dispatch, Covington Virginian).

We see that the brick addition was completed on the front in the 1950’s. Our lodge currently has the old corner-stone from this addition on display stating “Re. built 1956”. Again we see another reference to the government offices in the rear addition called “Lawyer’s Row”.

We also see that the Masonic Lodge is one of the most significant social organizations in Front Royal as of the books publication on June 30, 1995.

On Page 100 Endnotes, we see that Unity Lodge No. 146 had recorded the cornerstone laying at the Methodist Church in “Book #4”, and that the Warren Historical Society has a two page typing of the Masonic Rites in the Laura Virginia Hale Collection.

On page 122, we find that the Front Royal Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1941, and in 1941 they operated in the office space appeared in the rear of the Masonic Lodge before moving to a West Main Street Office.

Book	Town of Front Royal Historic Resources Survey Report
Published	June 30, 1995
Submitted By	Preservation Associates of Virginia Marc C. Wagner and Susan E. Smead Charlettesville
Funded by	Town of Front Royal and Virginia Department of Historic Resources