Odd Fellows Lodge No. 75/Seven Stars Rebekah Lodge No. 91

This is the second building owned by the Odd Fellows Lodge No. 75. The original building was dedicated on July 4, 1888, but burned 17 years later to the day, on July 4, 1905. Construction on this second building started almost immediately and opened less than a year later. The simple rectangular plan and the symmetrical layout of the principal façade are characteristic of the Late Victorian style in a commercial setting. There is a high level of detail on the façade that includes contrasting brick and stone decorative elements such as rounded arches, segmental arches, hood molds, corbelling, and quoins; it is the only building along Carbondale’s Main Street that incorporates this set of architectural details. The use of masonry at this period of development in Carbondale expressed a desire for permanence on the part of the builders and was a substantial commitment to the community. The building is intact in its original form, materials, and details; the exterior stair on the west side appears in an early photograph of the building, though the current configuration and finishes are slightly different.

Based on many newspaper articles of the time, Carbondale was the center of social life for the region and many of those activities took place in the lodge hall; the high school even used the main hall for basketball games into the 1930s.

Of note is that the property was owned by individual women over the first 20 years of its history including Joanna (Johannah) Calnan, Anna Sumnicht, and Mary J. Francis; these women all have well documented roles in the development of Carbondale as a thriving regional center. Joanna Calnan purchased lots 1 & 2 in 1888 from the Carbondale Town and Land Company. She, with her husband John, were two of the founders of the Town of Carbondale. In 1889 she borrowed $10,058 against the land. In 1891 Anna Sumnicht purchased the property; she sold it a year later to Mary J. Francis. Mary J. Francis was a well-documented benefactor of the community and continued to be an active member of the lodge, providing generously for community events, even after she conveyed the land to J. A. Brockway, Con Wald, and Alfred Bloxam as Trustees of the Mt. Sopris Lodge No. 75, in 1906. By 1921 F. E. Huber, Frank Bradley, Walter Carver, and E. W. Hampton were the trustees of the Lodge. The Seven Stars Rebekahs Lodge #91 was instituted February 18, 1903, and shared facilities with the Odd Fellows. Though the Odd Fellows Lodge was primarily associated with the building, it seems that the funding for the acquisition of the property and the construction was provided by the women members of the organization. The building was finally deeded to the Rebekahs on September 20, 1995, and ownership of the building remains with the Rebekahs Lodge to this day.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) is a fraternal organization that was founded in 1815 in Baltimore. It was fashioned after the English tradition of Odd Fellows that arose in the 1700s. The Rebekahs Lodge was established in the 1850s as the female auxiliary of the IOOF Lodge. Fraternal orders were very popular during the 1800s and served as community centers and mutual aid organizations.

Town of Carbondale, Downtown Survey Project, 2006, Reid Architects, Inc. MS. on File History Colorado, Denver, Colorado.

Carbondalegov.org

Carbondale Historical Society