Old Stone House / Star Lodge No. 1
Old Stone House
Star Lodge No. 1 and Queen of the Valley Lodge No. 1558, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, two African-American fraternal organizations, bought Old Stone House in 1885. Star Lodge sole owner since 1927. One of oldest extant buildings in town, built early 1790s on land Charles Washington sold to John Locke; family owned until 1878. Listed on National Register, 2000.
Star Lodge No. 1
Star Lodge No. 1, Free and Accepted Masons was chartered in 1877 by the Maryland Grand Lodge. The Lodge exemplifies the fraternal brotherhood and institutional growth of African-Americans in Charles Town and the state. It traces its origins back to the African Lodge No. 459, organized by Prince Hall in 1787, and is one of the oldest non-secular African-American organizations in West Virginia.
Marker is on South Lawrence Street 0.1 miles south of West Washington Street, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
