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Oldest Incorporated  National Road The recorded history of the Town of Triadelphia begins around the year 1800. Prior to this the site of the present town was wild, open country; the home of the slinking mountain lion, the fleet deer and the wily, woods-wise Indian. No chronology of the Town itself could be complete without a glimpse into the early days of the settlement of the Upper Ohio Valley, because it is during the formative period of the civilization we now enjoy that we find the ultimate causes for the great Federal and State projects which finally gave birth to the Town of the Three Brothers. Let us go back, then, to the time when the American Indian was the sole monarch of the Upper Ohio Valley. Shortly after the half-way mark of the 18th Century, the Ohio Valley was a territory whose ownership was disputed by the greatest nations of the earth. It was a fertile country with great future possibilities and consequently was considered a prize by the whites. England claimed ownership by virtue of a more or less tottery title bought from the Indians. France claimed ownership by right of discovery. Spain made claims based on the fact that Columbus had discovered America and the whole continent was therefore under the jurisdiction of the nation which had sent him on his successful voyage. So it came to be that while only a scattered few hardy trappers and explorers had ever seen "La Belle Riviera" diplomats and statesmen in the old world held numerous meetings anent the ownership of the great land west of the Alleghenies. The truth of the matter was that claims to ownership, upon whatever right they were based, were worthless and in the vast wilderness west of the mountains, might made right and to the victor belonged the spoils. It appears from the records that a few small expeditions had crossed the mountains from the sea-board settlements in the east, but the first accurate account of a white man descending the Ohio came as a result of an expedition headed by Bienville De Celeron. Celeron came down the Ohio with an armed force to claim the land adjacent to the river in the name of Sovereign France. This group of soldiers was sent out by the French Government to establish sites for future forts along the river. They carried with them engraved lead tablets which were buried in the ground at strategic spots with the hope that this metallic symbol of discovery would strengthen the claim of their nation to the land bordering on the Ohio. De Celeron and his troop of armored soldiers buried one of these plates at the mouth of Wheeling Creek one spring day of 1749. And, though the plate has never been found, definite proof in the writing of the leader is to be found today in the archives of the Government of France. England was not to be frightened away from the rest by a few leaden plates, however, and as early as 1753 we find that George Washington, then a boy of only twenty-one, was sent by the crown as envoy extraordinary to the French Forts near Lake Erie. His report was unfavorable so in the next year he crossed the barrier of the Alleghenies for the second time and nearly reached the Ohio River. This time the youthful Washington was in command of "The Virginia Regiment" which was to establish an outpost at the confluence of the Monogahela and Allegheny Rivers at the present site of Pittsburgh. The expedition was destined to failure, however, as the French advanced to meet it and almost within sight of his goal, Washington was forced into battle and driven back to Fort Necessity where after a long fight he finally surrendered with the honors of war. In 1758, George Washington, now a Lieutenant, was chosen to lead General Braddock overland to Fort Duquesne. The story of this ill-fated expedition is well known to all. Bull-dog Braddock would not listen to the young Virginian who so well knew the style of fighting in the wilderness. As a result Braddock and many of his regulars died on the field of battle and those who survived were led back across the mountains by Washington. Later in 1758, Washington was again pressed into service to lead the Virginia vanguard of General Forbes successful attack on Fort Duquesne. This was the final stroke for England against French occupation of the West. Lest all this story of Washington's expeditions may seem out of place in a history of Triadelphia, we will pause in our account for a moment to explain that it was definitely due to these expeditions of the young man who was to become the "Father of His Country" that the Town of Triadelphia owes its existence. Washington knew the west and as soon as the French War was over he began to accumulate land in this area so replete with possibilities. As a nest egg he had promise of large acreage, given him by the Governor of Virginia for his part in the Fort Necessity Campaign. Other officers and the men who participated in this expedition also received large tracts, or rather promises of large tracts. Washington bought many of these promises from other survivors and added them to his already large holdings. Things in the colonies were not running well at this time. The revolution was brewing and Washington's popularity made him more or less the center of activity. However, the lands given the soldiers of the Fort Necessity Campaign had not yet been apportioned to the men. Washington as the original leader of the expedition was asked by these soldiers to again go west to locate the land they owned. This he did, setting out for the Ohio in October of 1770. On this trip, Washington traveled to Pittsburgh on horseback. There he left his horses and procured canoes. He descended the Ohio as far as the mouth of the Great Kanawha and ascended the Kanawha for several miles. He then returned to the present site of Pittsburgh and from there to his home in the east. The trip which today can be made in a few days by train and in one day by airplane, took Washington nine weeks and one day. In the meantime, in 1769, the nucleus of the City of Wheeling was being formed. As was quite usual in those early pioneer days, the men of the Zane household crossed the mountains to took the new country over; chose the site of their residence; then returned for the rest of the family and brought them over the next year. Colonel Ebenezer Zane followed the custom of the day and with only a few male companions crossed the mountains and continued on past the outposts on the Monogahela until he reached the valley of the Ohio. Historians are wont to rhapsodize on the Colonel's remarks as he reached the top of the last of many hills, to first gaze upon the broad Ohio. Whether this hardy pioneer waxed poetic from the summit of Wheeling Hill or not, we have no proof. In the light of logic, however, it seems probable that here he found fertile bottom land suited to his ideas of a place to settle. Before him was a river which it would have been difficult to cross. And, after weeks of the arduous mountain trail, it seems more likely that the decision to locate on the east bank of the Ohio was of practical origin rather than of poetic musing. Be that as it may, Colonel Zane marked the spot and returned to bring his family to the present site of Wheeling in 1770. In the early days of the settlement of the Ohio Valley the Indians were not particularly belligerent toward the whites. Not long after the first settlement in Wheeling, however, events transpired which tended to infuriate the red-skins. Forts were few on the Ohio. Fort Pitt at the headwaters was, by 1774, a strong garrison. The fort at Redstone was also manned by a large number of soldiers. In districts removed from these forts, however, the settlers were forced to build their own private forts. With Indian depredations growing more and more frequent, Colonel Zane decided that the little colony under his wing should have a strongly barricaded fort. So it was that Fort Fincastle was erected by the sturdy band of pioneers and it was well that this precaution was taken for within a few years the Indians rose in all their power to try to exterminate the whites who had braved the country west of the mountains. There is little doubt in the light of present knowledge that the settlers were grossly at fault as far as the first of the Indian depredations were concerned. The whites had a contempt for the red-skins, and some of the early adventurers were not averse to murdering an Indian or two for the sport it afforded them. So it was small wonder that the Indians soon came to fear the invasion of this new people and eventually set out to wipe them from the face of the earth. Most of the early "Indian fighting" history of Wheeling centers on this effort and culminates in 1777 when the Indians went on the warpath with a vengeance. So came the "bloody year of the Three Sevens", during which scarcely a clay passed that scattered survivors of some massacre did not come in from outlying cabins to tell horrible tales of the brutality of the Indians and to seek the shelter of the fort. As a result of the success of scattered attacks on isolated cabins, the Indians became so emboldened that they finally attacked Fort Fincastle itself and it was only after several days of hard fighting that the red-skins were repulsed. During the siege, the cabin of Colonel Ebenezer Zane, located some distance from the stockade, was burned to the ground. After the failure of this attack the Indians did not attack the fort for several years. During the Revolutionary War, England won the confidence of the Indians in one way and another and in the central west there was much fighting between the colonists and Indians under the direction of British agents. It is readily realized that such strife on the border was not conducive to a general settlement of the country. Even hardy pioneers like the Wetzels who had built cabins in outlying districts were either murdered or moved into the protection of the forts and newcomers to the district immediately identified themselves with one of the strong forts. Conditions were worse than unsettled; they were dangerous even in the strong forts. In 1782 the word came from the east that Cornwallis had surrendered at Yorktown and the war was over. So separated was the newly settled land west of the Alleghenies from the colonies in the east, however, that this was only a signal for renewed hostilities on the part of the British in the west. England may have lost dominion over the eastern seaboard, but there was still hope of saving the west for the mother country.
So it was that the last battle of the Revolutionary War was fought at Wheeling between Indians headed by Simon Girty, a renegade white, a few British regulars and the small body of men in Fort Henry. (Fort Fincastle had been re-named Fort Henry at the beginning of the war in honor of Patrick Henry, the patriot.) During the siege of Fort Henry many famous historical incidents occurred. Betty Zane ran for more powder. Major McColloch made his famous leap from the top of Wheeling Hill to the creek below. But these great deeds of great people were actually at that time only contributing causes to the ownership of the central west by the thirteen original colonies; and of course the inclusion of the present Ohio County in Virginia and later in West Virginia. The Battle of Fort Henry was the deciding factor in warfare in the central west. From the time of the successful defense of Fort Henry by Colonel Zane and his followers there is no record of Indian depredations. The Indians moved westward and the Valley of the Ohio was left to the sole occupation of the white settlers. Then it was that the real settlement of the district began. Already there were forts in Western Pennsylvania and through the present counties of Brooke and Hancock, in West Virginia. As soon as the Indians had been definitely vanquished, the settlers who had taken refuge in these forts moved away from them and took up plots of land nearby. Then as more immigrants came from the East still more cabins appeared and gradually the country became settled. George Washington, of course, had served as Commander in Chief of the Colonial armies during the Revolution and then he was elected the first president of the United States. When he took office as president of his nation, we are told that he was worth about a half-million dollars -- more than half of this consisted of land west of the Alleghenies. It is small wonder then that he was interested in the development of the central west. He saw at the outset that communication must be established between the eastern seaboard and the outposts; he realized that much of the future prosperity of the western country depended upon the Government's treatment of the Indians. He saw, perhaps better than any other statesman of his time that new states would soon be clamoring for admission to the Union; and lastly he realized that there must be a policy of public lands formulated so that the great central west could be settled legally and without bloodshed. So it was that Washington's early tran-montane journeys influenced the policies of the early government and whether one wishes to lay his interest to selfishness or to genuine public spirit he was one of the foremost proponents of all things which had for their purpose the development of the west. George Washington was the author of the road building movement which later resulted in the construction of the famous National Road from Cumberland to Wheeling and was consequently directly responsible for the Town of Triadelphia being formed in 1829. Triadelphia was the direct outgrowth of the National Road and much of its past and present prosperity has been due to the fact that it was located on this great road which had such an enormous influence on the development of western Virginia. True it is that the road itself was not started until the administration of Thomas Jefferson but Thomas Jefferson was a disciple of Washington's and had his faith in the future of the west close at heart. He had vision to see that the development of this great treasure house of wealth and industry awaited only proper communication facilities to blossom forth in all its power. To have vision was not all that was needed, however, as it was also necessary to raise the money to build a road across the mountains; an item which presented political and economic barriers. Thousands of dollars would be needed and it could be raised only in the east where the idea would be no doubt sturdily opposed. Albert Gallatin, then Secretary of the Treasury, finally proposed a plan which seemed practical. The people west of the Ohio River were clamoring for admission to the Union as a separate state. Gallatin proposed to let them in but to attack a proviso to their application that five per cent of the money received from the sale of public lands within the new state, should be used to build a road from Cumberland (the western terminus of the most western road of that day) to the Ohio River. The State of Ohio was admitted by that proviso and by 1805 the munificent sum of $12,652.00 had been accumulated for the purpose of building a road one hundred and thirty miles long over the most rugged mountain country imaginable. The prospect was not alluring to the proponents of the first "good roads movements" but these pioneers rolled back their starched cuffs and laid siege to Congress. The result was that after much bickering, arguing and wind-jamming in the halls of Congress the backers of the project were permitted to begin a survey of the proposed route. The results of the survey showed that the wild beast and the Indian were past masters in the art of blazing trails and that the shortest and easiest route was one used by Chief Nemacolin and his Indians over the mountains as far west as Washington, Pa. This was the route traversed by Washington and Braddock and was sometimes called Braddock's Road, a name by which it is known in some sections today.
After the survey it was obvious that the road would strike the Ohio River at some point between the settlement known as Steubenville and the mouth of Grave Creek (now the site of, Moundsville, W. Va.). The survey was accepted and work was begun on the National Road under an act of Congress dated 1806. Wheeling was fast becoming an important commercial center during all this time. Immigrants from the east were wont to terminate their long trip over the mountains in Wheeling and either stay here or push on by boat down the Ohio. It was the end of the walk or horse-back ride and the beginning of the trip by water. Consequently it became a trading center where horses were bought and sold; where grain and whiskey were shipped; and where one could buy clothing or supplies of the sort needed in the backwoods. The City of Wheeling had been incorporated in 1794 and already it was beginning to have its suburbs. Monument Place at Elm Grove was built by Colonel Moses Shepherd who had married Lydia Boggs, one of the survivors of the Battle of Fort Henry. Sometime later Josiah Thompson built the first permanent structure of the site of the present Town of Triadelphia and this building is today a part of the structure of the old Lawson Tavern on the north side of the road about the middle of the Town. To return to the road, however, the fact that Congress had authorized the construction of the road did not solve everything. Engineering difficulties were numerous in the wild mountains of the Alleghenies but they were not nearly so serious as legislative troubles and the battles between persons and groups who, in the spot-light of historical research, appeared to sense the existence of such a thing as a "pork barrel" even in this early day. When the time came that the site of the road west of Washington, Pa., must be decided upon, more dissention arose. Steubenville wanted it to meet the Ohio where that city was located. Moundsville lobbied, wheedled and exhorted that Grave Creek was the place for it to meet the river. Wheelingites, of course, did all in their power to bring it to their settlement. Stories are many why it came to Wheeling. One historian has intimated that a woman's smile has turned more than the course of roads in this old world of ours, and he may have been right. Certain it is that Henry Clay, on his many trips across the mountains, nearly always was a guest at "Monument Place". And on these visits, Col. and Mrs. Shepherd had great parties in his honor. As he was the most influential of the backers of the Old Pike, and as he was very popular among the young unmarried girls of the vicinity, it does not seem impossible that one of his enamoured was responsible for the road coming to Wheeling. Further proof that the young lady did not live far away from "Monument Place" comes to light when it is remembered that the original course of the Road was to have been on the north side of the creek to Elm Grove, but for some reason the "S" bridge was built so that it would pass the present site of the Thornburg farm. Be that as it may, the Road was finally completed to Wheeling in 1818 and almost immediately the traffic on it not only justified the vision of those who made it possible but as well caused Taverns to spring up at intervals of only a few miles all along its 130 miles. Two taverns came into being in Triadelphia. One was kept by John D. Foster at a very early day. It was a frame building on the North side of the road. The old Pike boys (wagoners and stage drivers) reported that it was one of the very best on the road and an old historian says of Foster, "He was courteous in deportment, given to hospitality and scrupulously observant of the proprieties of life." His daughter Mary Foster became the wife of C. S. Maltby the celebrated oyster dealer of Baltimore who became enormously wealthy in the oyster shipping business. Colonel Thompson, who had built the first house in Triadelphia also operated a tavern in the Town at an early day. His tavern, latterly known as the Lawson House is still standing on the north side of the Old Pike near the center of the town. Colonel Thompson was one of the incorporators of the Town of Triadelphia. Having come to Triadelphia as one of the contractors on the Old Pike, he early saw the possibilities of the spot for a town. Consequently as the population grew, due to the business brought by the Pike and the fact that the taverns here were the first Stage Stop out of Wheeling, he and some other of the older settlers decided to incorporate the Town. Colonel Thompson offered the land necessary to the building of the Town and he and John D. Foster, together with one Amasa Brown, incorporated the. Town under an act of the Virginia Assembly, dated 1829. The Act follows: CHAPTER 154 - An act establishing the town of Triadelphia, in the County of Ohio. TOWN OF TRIADELPHIA Established, 2. "Empowered to Make By-Laws and Ordinances" - That the trustees of said town, or a majority, shall be, and they are hereby empowered to make such by-laws and ordinances for the regulation of the police, for regular building of houses therein, as to them shall seem best, and the same to amend, after or repeal, and enforce, and to settle and determine disputes concerning the boundaries of lots, streets and alleys in said town; PROVIDED, That such by-laws and ordinances shall not be repugnant to, or incon- sistent with the constitution and laws of the United States, or of this Commonwealth. 3. "Plat and Survey to Be Made" - That the trustees of said town, as soon as convenient, shall cause to be made a complete survey and plat of said town, with such remarks and explanations as they may think proper; which plat, with the remarks and explanations made, shall be produced to the County Court of Ohio County; and if approved by the court, they shall order their clerk to enter the same of record and after such plat shall be recorded, any true copy thereof, attested by the clerk, shall be read in evidence in any controversy relating to the boundary of any lot, street or alley of said town. 4. "General Law" - Be it further enacted, that so much of this act, entitled, "an act to reduce into one, all acts and parts of acts concerning the office of GENERAL LAW trustees or directors of the several towns within this Commonwealth, and for supplying vacancies in the same," as is of a public nature, shall be regarded as the law in relation to said town of Triadelphia, hereby established. 5. This act shall be in force from and after the passage thereof.
So it was that Triadelphia became the first Town to be chartered within the bounds of the present State of West Virginia. This charter originally granted was superceded by another issue by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1840 and when the State of West Virginia was formed the Charter of 1840 remained valid except where it might conflict with the laws of the new state. As a consequence of this peculiar procedure, the Town of Triactelphia today, operates under a charter granted by the State of Virginia. We can almost see the joy on the faces of these old Tavern Keepers when their Charter was granted them. The fruit of their labors was now recognized as an integral part of the Old Dominion. Their work had not been in vain. The choice of a name for the town seems a bit ob- scure. The name comes from the Greek meaning "Three Brothers". As Colonel Thompson was the donor of the land for the new town and as he had three sons it seems reasonable that the name came from this source. It seems ironical that in those days sons were considered in so much more important a light than were daughters -- while even as it is today the women bore most of the burden. In the case of Colonel Thompson's family, the three brothers for whom the new town was named all moved away, and it remained for a daughter of a daughter of the Colonel's to return with her husband to conduct the old tavern in the last days of the glory of the Old Pike under the name, "The Lawson House". The National Road was opened in 1818 and from that time until 1852 when the B. & 0. Railroad reached Wheeling it was the principle artery of transportation and travel between the east and the fast growing west. Freight was hauled over the new road in Conestoga Wagons pulled by six and eight horses or several yokes of oxen. Travelers might ride their own horses or ride in stage coaches. Mail was carried by stage. Freight moved about thirteen miles a day and stages with passengers and mail ran on schedules of seventy miles, or about half the length of the road between dawn and dusk. When evening came the wagoners would stop at one of the numerous Taverns which were situated at intervals along the road. Then came the time for good cheer. The Lawson House and Foster's Tavern in Triadelphia were this type of tavern. After a long hot or cold day on the road, (whichever might be the case) the wagoners would gather in the big "parlor" of the Tavern and spin yarns about their horses, the miles they covered or the weight they could pull. Whiskey was the drink of the road. Ale was consumed in limited quantities, we are told, but beer as we know it today was not served at either the Taverns or the Stage Houses. Whiskey was sold at the Taverns in Triadelphia for three cents a drink. Supper could be obtained by the weary traveler for a "levy", a Spanish coin worth twelve and a half cents, and the morning bill of the wagoner with a six horse team did not exceed a dollar and seventy-five cents which included grain and hay for the horses, meals and lodging for the driver and "all the drinks we saw proper to take". Some idea of the traffic on the road may be gained by the historian Searight's description: "As many as twenty four-horse carriages have been counted in line at one time on the road, and large broad-wheeled wagons, covered with white canvass stretched over bows, wagons, covere laden with merchandise and drawn by six Congestoga horses, were visable all the day long at every point, and many times till late in the evening, besides innumerable caravans of horses, mules, cattle, hogs and sheep. It looked more like the leading avenue of a great city than a road through rural districts." Many of the greatest statesmen of the time passed over the old road when it was in its hey-day. Jackson, Harrison, Clay, Sam Houston, Polk, Taylor, Crittenden, Shelby, Allen, Scott, Butter, the eccentric Davy Crockett, and many of their contemporaries in the backwoods and the halls of government were familiar figures to those who dwelt by the side of the Old Pike. As long as the Old Pike remained the artery of transportation and travel, Triadelphia was a mecca for travelers. But the great road was doomed to fall in the path of progress, for in 1852 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad arrived in Wheeling and the glamor and utility of the old road fast passed away. Triadelphia was never a manufacturing city, although at one time there was quite an extensive brick works in the town and it is interesting to know that bricks made here were used to build the old Sanitarium at Washington, Pa. Triacielphia was not destined for manufacture, however, and its growth, after a dormant period following the hey-day of the Old Pike was due almost entirely to the development of nearby coal fields. As the hills were tapped for the precious fuel, more and more people came to live in Triadelphia and the National Road was for years and years just a connecting link between towns along the route, and in many cases as in Triadelphia, served as main streets of the towns to which at one time it had given the sole right to existence. With the coming of the automobile, however, the old road has once more come into it's own. Tourists of the world today ride over the old road through Triadelphia and now it Is not unusual for the ten gallons and a quart of oil purchased in the morning to exceed the $1.75 that the old Tavern Keepers at one time received for the "works". Many of the names found in the early history of Triadelphia are still familiar in the oldest town in West Virginia. The Atkinson, Cracraft, Beagle, Dickenson, Sheridan, Lucas, Loomis, Lawson and Thompson families are still represented in the Wheeling district. All of them had a part in the early history of Triadelphia. They were hardy stock, good solid citizens, and now, 104 years after the Charter was issued to Josias Thompson, John D. Foster and Amasa Brown, they have gone down in history as men with vision and hope and faith in the future. It might be well for many of us today to emulate the example of these splendid men who founded our town; who gave their best that Triadelphia might become more than just a group of houses; more than a settlement; and would take its place in history and in the community that it rightly deserves.
The Triadelphia town council, which is elected every year; the present council is: All the members, with the exception of Mr. Thomas, are serving their second term. Fred Wagner, better known as "Dutch", is 52 years of age, married and has two children, was born in Triadelphia, and lived here all his life. He is in the grocery business. Robert Leybehyer, better known as "Brownie", is 43 years of age, unmarried, lived in Triadelphia for twenty-seven years. He is a machinist. Walter Thomas is 52 years old, married and has one daughter, has lived in Triadelphia for thirty-five years. He is in the bakery business. Fred Weiss, better known as "Freddie", is 63 years old, unmarried, and has lived in Triadelphia all his life. He is a gardner. James Vance is 66 years old, unmarried, lived in Triadelphia all his life. He has served as Town Recorder for twelve years. He is a carpenter by trade. E. G. Wickham, better known to his friends as E. G., is 41 years old and the youngest member of the council. He was born and raised in Triadelphia, serving his second term as mayor of the town. Married and has two daughters. He is in the grocery business, operating stores in Triadelphia, Edgwood, Warwood, and the Wheeling Island.
Louis Logomarcina - has served as Town Marshall for ten years, and as a county officer for thirty years. "Loggie", as he is better known by his friends, has made over 10,000 arrests and never once was forced to use firearms. To "Loggie" also, goes the distinction of being the first motorcycle policeman in Wheeling, and in all probability in the entire state. He was born in Wheeling in 1879. He received his early education at the Tenth Ward School. He gave up his Town Marshall job on January 1, 1934, and Harold Price, who had been night sergeant, was appointed to take his place.
Harold Price, better known as "Red", is the Town Sergeant. He states he took oath to do his duty, and he means what he says. Three hours after he took his oath of office he made three arrests.
It was in the year 1882, when six business men of the Town of Triadelphia, namely, -- Louis Wheeler, Frederick Klein, John Heffenbine, Joshua Echols, M. L. Shanks, and Henry Helfenbine, met at Louis Wheeler's Store to make plans to get a charter to start the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in the town. The charter was applied for, and as the Grand Lodge did not meet until October, they were issued a special privilege charter which enabled them to go ahead and take in any members that qualified. Some of the men that were taken in were: George T. Wickham, July 8, 1882; William Krumme, July 8, 1882; Louis Naumann, July 8, 1882; and William Wickham, August 12, 1882. In October, 1882 the Grand Lodge issued the charter to the lodge to be known at Triadelphia Lodge No. 94 -- 1. 0. 0. F. Of the six charter members there is just one left, Fred Klein, whose picture can be found elsewhere in this publication. From its humble beginning the lodge has grown steadily. It now has thirty-eight Past Grand Members and ninety Scarlet Degree Members. Has paid every just claim presented to it. Has a "Rebekah Branh of Order" meeting in the same hall. Owns its own home. Has seen fifty-two years of faithful service in Friendship, Love and Truth. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is an American institution and is the strongest fraternal order in the world. The first Lodge in this country was organized in April 26, 1819 at "Seven Stars Tavern" in Baltimore, Md. by Thomas Wildey and four other English Odd Fellows, receiving its charter from England. Not many years later, emulating the course taken by "The Early Fathers", the American Lodges renounced their allegiance to the Mother Country, and ever since have been known as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and now have branches in all parts of the world; sixty-eight Grand Lodges, over 18,000 Subordinate Lodges, 10,000 Rebekah Lodges, with a grand total membership of over two million, together with fifty-eight Grand Encampments and 3,377 Subordinate Encampments. They are all under the control and supervision of the Sovereign Grand Lodge. A detailed statement of what the Lodges have done would fill many volumes and then much would be left unsaid. The Odd Fellows Order has never yet been second to any other organization in its prompt giving of aid to any who may have been thus unfortunate.
All in all it's a great organization. I. 0. 0. F. - F. L. T.- Friendship, Love, and Truth. The regular meetings of the lodge are held on Tuesday evening of each week for the transaction of general business, and the hour of the meeting is 7:30 P. M. from October 1 to March 31, and at 8 o'clock from April 1 to September 30.
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First Mayor