Odd Fellows Hall. 5049 Canal Street. 1890. Frame Vernacular. The building was originally constructed as the Lodge for the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows. This fraternal organization was founded in New York, 1843 and membership has been principally African Americans. The lodge dispensation for the Santa Rosa Charter was granted September 12, 1881 by the Grand Masters of the Order. lpproximately ten years later, this building, Odd Fellows Hall, was constructed by its members. In 1925, the Order of Odd Fellows sold the building; and it was converted to a boarding house. 

The organization of the Odd Fellows marks an important moment in African-American history in Milton. Next to churches, lodges and fraternal organizations were the most significant pre-World World I black institutions. These organizations promoted social service, literacy, self-improvement and often political activism among the community. They also helped bridge the gap between local social divisions. 

Credits and Sources:

National Register of Historic Places: Milton, Florida.  November 8, 1987.  National Register Identification Number 87001944

Brian D. Rucker, “Blackwater and Yellow Pine: The Development of Santa Rosa County, 1821-1865. (Ph.D diss., Florida State University, 1990).

Virginia Savage McAlester.  A Field Guide to American Houses. (New York:  Alfred A. Knopf. 2013).

Gerald Foster. American Houses. (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. 2004).

Maurie Van Buren. House Styles at a Glance. (Marietta, Georgia: Longstreet Press. 1991).