UB Block (United Brethren - Odd Fellows Buildings)

The Odd Fellows Hall was built in 1889, I.O.O.F Trust Building in 1915, and the United Brethren (UB) Building was also built in 1915. The three buildings are now called the "UB Block" and are part of the Huntington Courthouse Square Historical District. Beginning in the 1980s the buildings started a long slow decline. Condemned in 2013, the buildings were rescued by Huntington Alert and a combination of private and public funds. The rehabilitated buildings reopened in 2020 just as the state entered the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

The International Order of Odd Fellows began a formal chapter in the United States in 1819. The Fraternal Order of Odd Fellows has a focus in philanthropy, charity and the Golden Rule. “The historic command of the Odd Fellow is to 'visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan’.” In November 1888, the local paper stated that the old M.E. Church was for sale (on the site that is now the Odd Fellows building). R. P Daggett & Co., architects out of Indianapolis worked on this building and other Odd Fellow lodges in Indiana. By September 1889 another article stated that the brick work was complete. An effusive news article later that month spoke of the building as “the most handsomest front in all of Huntington.”

In 1915, the I.O.O.F lodge was finished next door. The phrase “I.O.O.F. Trust” in the middle of the building’s arch was placed there because the income from renting the property was originally used to support the I.O.O.F Cemetery (Mt. Hope). The United Telephone Company was the biggest and original tenant of the building until the early 1960s.

United Brethren Publishing was established in 1837. In 1897, they moved their operations to Huntington where they continued until 1981. Initially the main focus was primarily for the purpose of publishing a denominational periodical. Eventually the publishing house produced other publications such as hymnals, disciplines, reports, and other books. IN 1957, the publisher purchased the above two buildings, hence giving the name of the trio of buildings the UB Block. The United Brethren maintained a presence in their building until the 1970s when most of the offices relocated to the growing campus. The publishing business remained until 1981.

The two Odd Fellows buildings were sold to United Brethren Publishing by the late 1950s. At that time the three buildings became more directly connected to allow for expanded operations. After publishing operations ceased, the company sold the buildings. They then began a long, slow decline under the management of several owners. By 2009 all that was left according to the city directories were a few apartments and two businesses (Animal Crackers pet shop, and the Army/Marine recruiting offices). These remained until the buildings were condemned in 2013 and the City of Huntington began plans to demolish them.

At that time Huntington Alert and the Indiana Landmarks Commission began efforts to save the buildings. They convinced the city to hold off on demolition while they tried to find a buyer willing to rehab the building. In 2014 the Redevelopment Commission took possession because of back taxes. It was listed on the Indiana Landmarks' 10 Most Endangered Buildings list in 2015. A developer was found and plans for redevelopment began in 2016. Actual work started in early 2018, and the buildings reopened in 2020. The first floor is comprised of the UB Launch co-working space, the Huntington County Chamber of Commerce, and the Huntington Arts & Entrepreneurial Center. The upper floors have 37 market-rate apartments.

The Huntington County Interim Report, 2^nd Edition, labels the architecture style in the Odd Fellows building as Victorian/Romanesque. Built over twenty five years later the I.O.O.F Building and UB Building are more a Neo-classical style of building, but looking at the buildings as a block, many features are carried across all buildings. The UB/IOOF/Odd Fellows Hall Building are location number 87 on the National Register of Historic Places registration form for the Huntington Courthouse Square Historic District which was approved in 1992.

1. Huntington County Interim Report 2^nd Edition, Indiana 1982. This book can be located at the Huntington City-Township Public Library. hctpl.info.
2. “Independent Order of Odd Fellows,” IOOF, accessed July 21, 2021. https://odd-fellows.org.
3. “An Attractive Work,” The Daily Democrat [Huntington, IN], 17 September 1889.
4. “New I.O.O.F. Block to Support Charity,” The Huntington Herald [Huntington, IN] 28 Aug 1915.
5. “United Brethren Publications: Home,” Huntington University [Huntington, IN}, accessed July 21, 2021. https://huntington.libguides.com/c.php?g=545504
6. Clark, Steve, “UB Block coming back to life from edge of demolition,” The Tab [Huntington, IN] 22 Oct 2018.
7. "United in Peril: Clock Ticks Down for Huntington Block." Indiana Preservationist, May-June 2015.
8. "Odd Fellows Block Saved." Indiana Landmarks. 2017. https://www.indianalandmarks.org/2017/02/odd-fellows-block-endangered-no-more
9. National Register Digital Places. National Registry of Historic Places. Accessed July 22, 2021. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/85461645-f775-4cf8-a822-d8525b7cf0ba