Page 177 - Cornelius Hedges Story

For This And Succeeding Generations Gardiner 164

The text on National Register of Historic Places sign reads
(Figure 32:

Meriwether Lewis’s Masonic apron and O. C. Seltzer mural
depicting the first Masonic meeting in Montana are among
the treasures displayed in “the home of Montana Masonry.” A
dynamic political and social force since early territorial days,
the Masons founded the Grand Lodge in Virginia City in 1866.
Headquarters moved to Helena by 1868. After a catastrophic
1874 fire, Cornelius Hedges, then Grand Secretary, warned that
the lodge needed a “more stable and ceremonious office than
(my) coattails.” It took more than sixty years for Hedges’ vision
to materialize, but in 1935 the lodge retained architect and Master
Mason Chandler Cohagen of Billings to design a building to hold
the increasingly significant collection of books, photographs
and artifacts. Carved Masonic symbols ornament the windows
and doors of the resulting Art Moderne style museum, whose
horizontal massing, smooth finish and restrained detailing reflect
the streamlined aesthetic of the 1930’s. In 1937 the Masons
dedicated their new Grand Lodge, which today continues to
house a museum and the Masons’ state administrative offices.