Franklin’s Masonic lodge commemorates 200-year anniversary

On Tuesday, April 22, the Hiram Masonic Lodge #7 in downtown Franklin opened its doors to the community to share its rich history and celebrate 200 years since the building’s cornerstone was laid. Some of Williamson County’s most knowledgeable historians and preservationists spent the evening speaking about the historical significance of the building and why it is important to support the preservation of the space.

“This building serves as the home and public meeting house for a number of different organizations — Hiram Lodge #7, a place for our women’s group to meet, a place for the American Legion to meet — and for 200 years it has served that purpose for Franklin and Williamson County, Tennessee,” said Scott Medsker, a junior warden at the hall and the event’s emcee. “That is something that is absolutely worth celebrating.”

As the speakers shared the intricate details of the building’s 200-year history, they encouraged the audience to see the present value of the building. Over the years the building has sustained some damage and wear, spurring the start of a nonprofit foundation to raise funds to restore the building.

The effort to begin preservation work on the building stalled for a few years but was rejuvenated last May after a bout of severe storms. Now, the lodge has all of its building permits taken care of and plans to start work as soon as possible.

“One hundred percent, work will begin in the next two weeks,” said John Baumgartner, who has helped lead the restoration efforts. “We’re ready to go.”

Tuesday served as an opportunity for the lodge to reintroduce itself to the public and garner support for the building’s restoration.

“This building is probably the most important building in downtown Franklin,” said Williamson County historian Rick Warwick. “This place is history itself.”

Warwick joined local preservationist, lawyer and corporate leader Rod Heller in giving brief histories of the role of the Hiram lodge in the development of the region.

“The early settlers here, the early founders of our town, you look at their names and most of them are on the roster of members of this organization,” Warwick said. “This building [was] the center of all social activity. There were dances here, there were lectures here, the churches met here while they were building their own church, so this hall here is really a public space.”

Outside of its impact on the local community, Heller spoke about a “tale of two masons.” He shared how two of the state’s most influential politicians — Andrew Jackson and Felix Grundy — were masons and how their political moves may have led to the creation of anti-masonic party in the U.S.

Rachel Finch, a local preservationist and principal consultant at Engage Preservation, talked about the significance of the building’s structure and the artifacts inside before attendees took tours to see all that she spoke about. Like the ceremonies and rituals of masonry, Finch said many of the architectural and decorative aspects of the building are symbolic. And while those ceremonies and rituals are secret, the local lodge wants to share its exoteric elements with the public.

“The masons are opening their doors — they recognize that [this building] is a treasure and they recognize that there is a significance to Franklin, Williamson County and the state of Tennessee for why this building matters,” Finch said.

Medsker emphasized the masons are less of a secret society and more of a charitable organization focused on bettering its members for the betterment of the community.

“A lot of people think that masonry is a secret society — it’s not secret; it is a society with secrets,” Medsker said. “It is a chance for us to build ourselves into better men, better husbands, better leaders, better fathers and better community. What makes this building so unique is that it has so continually been the place where those lessons have been taught to thousands of men.”

All of the speakers urged the audience to support the preservation of the building, whether monetarily or by spreading the word about the building’s needs.

“It’s an important building and I encourage the whole town and county to get behind saving this building,” said Warwick.

Because Finch doesn’t do much work in Franklin anymore, she said coming back to the lodge was a full circle moment in which she advocated for the protection of a building she spent years studying.

“If you all will get behind the nonprofit and consider donating to keep this building safe so it can be open to the public more, so it’s history can be shared as well as its history tied to the masons, then you all are doing your part as community activists and advocates and preservationists,” Finch said.

Learn more about the building and the Masonic lodge at https://www.hiramlodge7.org/.