Cataract Lodge No.2: Our History
by WB Joel Friedman
(edited by WB Mark Campbell)
posted on July 10th, 2024
The origins of Cataract Lodge began back on 13 December 1851 when Dr Alfred Elisha Ames along with eight other Masons petitioned the Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Illinois for dispensation to form a Masonic Lodge in the then St Anthony (the forerunner of Minneapolis). Then Grand Master of Illinois, Thomas Pickett, granted the request and Cataract Lodge #121 of the Grand Lodge of Illinois was thereafter chartered on 5 October 1852. It was at that time one of only three Masonic Lodges in the Minnesota Territory, with statehood still six years away.
Dr Alfred Elisha Ames
The first Lodge meeting or Stated Communication of Cataract Lodge was held on 14 February 1852 with only the nine charter members in attendance. Within the next eight months when the Lodge’s charter was issued, the Lodge had raised 30 Master Masons and received an additional 42 petitioners. That first meeting was held in the parlor of Ard Godfrey’s home with his wife, Helen, guarding the door to keep off all cowans and eavesdroppers. Their daughter Helen recalled, “We couldn’t even peep through the keyhole [1],” and of her duties it was said, “She discharged there duties of that office in a very commendable manner [2].”
Ard Godfrey
Colonel John H. Stevens of Quebec was among the earliest residents on the West bank of the Mississippi. He was granted a site within the Fort Snelling Military Reservation, in exchange for providing ferrying services across the river. His restored home is familiar to Minneapolitans as a museum in Minnehaha Park. John Stevens would serve as both state senator and representative. Daniel Coolbaugh of Pennsylvania was responsible for the construction of many of the stone buildings in St Anthony. Hezekiah Smith Atwood of Nova Scotia was prominent in the furniture industry. Colonel Emanuel Case of New York established the first mercantile in St Anthony and would serve with distinction in the Civil War.
Additionally, even prior to receiving their first charter, Cataract had among its members such distinguished personages as Isaac Atwater (lawyer and historian), Anson Northrup (Steamboat captain), Franklin Steele (First to stake land north of Ft Snelling), Dr JH Murphy (physician and partner to Dr Ames), and Charles Stearns (politician and namesake for Stearns County). The Lodge was so named to reflect its proximity to St Anthony Falls, and would come to inhabit several homes. The first regular meetings from 1852 to 1856 were held in rented space at Main Street NE and 4th Avenue.
First Lodge Hall rented by Cataract Lodge No.2 in 1853
The next two years were at the Tremont House, followed by the Rollins Building until 1874, which was originally owned by the Crown Iron Works. The Lodge would come to purchase six lots at Bank Street SE and University Avenue on which they would build their first Lodge owned Masonic Hall.
The Captain John Rollins’ Building 1857 - 1874
This site came to be termed the ‘Old Lodge’ and its cornerstone was laid in August 11, 1874 with suitable pomp and circumstance. The event was reported in the Minneapolis Daily Tribune,"There were about eight hundred Masons in procession, and they presented a very creditable appearance. The police were out in their new uniforms, and for the first time in the history of the city, a procession was preceded by a good-looking, well-dressed platoon of policemen.... It was about three o'clock when the procession came up University Avenue to the spot where the new building is being erected, and the procession having formed in a hollow square, the ceremonies of laying the cornerstone were gone through with."
Old Lodge exterior and Lodge room
Once completed the five story building would accomodate six Masonic groups with retail space on the first floor and office space on the second. It was a spectacular space with its main Lodge Hall on the uppermost floor. This was the Gold or Greek Room measuring nearly 4,500 square feet and equipped with a 21 foot proscenium stage in the west. In addition to the ornate details in gold, the room was flanked by Doric columns behind which were pastoral murals. In the East, a large, beautifully ornate stained glass was behind the Master’s chair and the ceiling featured a artfully designed representation of the sky. In addition to this main Lodge Hall there was also the smaller Blue or Roman room measuring just over 1,500 square feet and featuring Roman pilasters along the side walls. All this was in addition to a spacious Banquet and Ballroom.
Subsequently, with the changing demographics of the area, it was elected to build a new lodge closer to many of the members and a site in Golden Valley, a first ring suburb of Minneapolis, was chosen. Brother Benjamin Gingold drew up the architectural plans based on recommendations put forth by the Building Committee (Thomas Townsend, Robert Labo and Frank Harris). The one floor 4,500 square foot lodge on Glenwood Avenue was designed with handicapped access in mind in a functional, non-ornate structure. Because of zoning restrictions and the lot lines, the hall was oriented in a North-South direction rather than the usual East-West. Groundbreaking occurred on 28 July 1961 with a dedication ceremony on 21 July 1962. Unusually, there was no cornerstone ceremony and instead a bronze plaque was instead used.