Amity Lodge #483 History

Masonry came to Huntington County in 1851 when, on May 30th of that year, Mystic Lodge No.110 was organized. In 1874 the lodge was divided and Amity Lodge was chartered as No.483 by the Indiana Grand Lodge on May 26, 1874. The eight charter members consisted of three physicians, a carpenter, the editor and founder of the Indiana Herald, later the Herald Press, the auditor of the county, a merchant and a jeweler. Where Amity Lodge met in the mist of yesteryear is difficult to discover. The first minutes, September 1, 1883, are headed "Masonic Hall." A committee was named at this meeting to "confer with Mystic Lodge No.110 F. & A. M. in regard to occupying a "new Lodge Hall", but the site of the new hall, as well as of the "Masonic Hall" in which the first meetings were held was not told. The next March, however, Amity paid Mystic $18.75 rent, indicating both lodges used the same quarters. The minutes indicate Amity Lodge met in several locations during its early history. Locations included "Brother F. Dick's Hall," the DeLong Block building, the E. H. Clayton Building, where they occupied a second-floor hall, and a third-floor quarters in the Bippus Block. In 1917, "building fever" flared. A Building Fund of $5,000.00 was established. By April of 1922, this fund had grown to $18,980.00, and the Lodge purchased a lot in the business section of the town. In 1925, it was voted to dispose of "the property now owned" as the Lodge favored a "Masonic Home" instead of a building with a business establishment on the first floor. In 1926 the current lot was purchased, and a Temple Reality Company was formed. Building was started in that year. The cornerstone was laid on July 24, 1926, and the dedication of the new Temple was held on September 15, 1927. Knowlton Kelsey was Worshipful Master during that year. Most Worshipful Grand Master Obie J. Smith presided at the dedication of the new Temple. Dr. Abner H. Shaffer, the last living charter member of Amity Lodge, was honored during the dedication. He was ninety-nine years of age, and was a Seventy-year Mason at the time. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of its chartering, Amity Lodge hosted a Centennial Rededication program on Saturday, October 26, 1974. Most Worshipful Grand Master Frank J. Krug and Grand Lodge officers participated in the program. Amity Lodge is now well into its Second Century, and continues an active schedule of fraternal, community and social events. To better provide for these events, two adjacent properties have been purchased in recent years to improve facilities for parking. Continual growth and expansion seems a fitting tribute to those who labored so well to lay the foundations of Masonry in Huntington. Amity Lodge history compiled by Past Masters Samuel M. Kaiser and Vernon L. Neel

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