A Brief History of Durant Lodge #45

Adapted from works by A.J. McCarty and J.R. Sprague

In 1891, a group of Master Masons in the Durant area petitioned the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Oklahoma, Indian Territory, for permission to establish a new lodge.  The meeting place for this new lodge was to be the upper story of a two story frame building located somewhere on main street.  This locarion, along with the records of this period are lost in history.  Regular meeting nights was to be the first Saturday night after the new moon, in oeder to give the brethren plenty of light to travel home after the meeting.

On May11 1891, Most Worshipful Leo Edmund Bennett granted a dispensation to establish a lodge to Horatio Veach, Worshipful Master, Nathaniel Arthur Sims, Senior Warden, Charles Monroe Clark, Junior Warden, and five other master masons.  The new lodge was to be established at Durant, in the Indiann Terrirory, and to be called Durant Lodge #45.  On August 18 1891, the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge Of Oklahoma, Indian Territory granted a chartere to Durant Lodge #45, located at Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory.

In the earley years, almost all  of the towns leading professional and buisness men belonged to the lodge.  Membership in the lodge almost seemed to be a requirement in order to be a leader in the town's development.  As Durant grew, the frame buildings were replaced with buildings of brick and morter, and the lodge moved it's meeting place several times, and these locations are also lost in history.  Records do show that Durant Lodge #45 met for years upstairs in a two story building located at the southeast corner of 4th and Evergreen.

A building of their own was long a dream, and over the years there was much discussion about their ideas about what type of building they wanted, and how much money and what types of material would be needed to make their dream come true.  One evening in 1963, Brother Wallace Gates donated an acre of land, valued at the time at one thousand dollars, for the purpose of building a home for Durant Loodge #45.  The land is located at what is now the corner  of  W. University and Gates avenue.

This gift was the spark that was needed, and the contributions of materials, time, money, and experience that followed allowed the building to begin.  In a letter dated November 16 1964, the finance committee reported that the foundation and floors had been completed and the block walls were in the process of being laid.  Of the three hundred and nineteen listed members of the lodge, sixty five had donated money, and the brethren who were block layers, brick masons, carpenters, plunbers, and electricians were donating their labor and experience as their donations.  The block were donated by brother Orvil (Johnny) Sweeney who owned the local block plant.

At that time, the finance committee estimated that another five thousand dollars would be needed to complete the building and allow the brethren to move into a debt-free building.

It was also decided by the committee that anyone could donate money in increments of one hundred dollars, in memory of a deceased brother mason and have his name inscribed on a placque to be dispayed in the lodge for future generations to see.  Lesser amonts would also be accepted and the names listed on a Honor Scroll.

The years have passed and the building has been used and appreciated by Masons, members of the Order of the Eastern Star, DeMolay, and International Order of the Rainbow for Girls.  The Gates family was very kind to the lodge for many years whle Mrs. Gates was still with us, and starting in 2005 the brehtren started holding an annual Mexican Pile-On to raise funds to maintain and remodel the lodge.  The first changes were in the kitchen, where the sink was raised four inches to reduce the strain on the backs of brethren washing dishes.  There was another cabinet built to increase the counter space and storage.  The carpet in the kitchen was replaced with black and white checked vinyl.

Another counter was added to the dining area to increase serving space, and another refridgerator was purchased, (with an icemaker) and installed by a brother who happens to be a plumber.  Chapter 17 of the Order of the Eastern Star, who meet at our lodge, have raised money to remodel the bathrooms, and work has been started, and every improvement keeps our building looking better and better.

A lot of history has been skipped in this report, but remember that this is a work in progress, and more will be added.  If you have information or memories that need to be listed here, you can contact the secretary at 580-434-7565, or the webmaster of this site.