From the nine pioneer Lodges established in Tennessee by the Grand Lodge of North Carolina and Tennessee between 1796 and 1812, Hiram Lodge No. 7 emerged as the oldest continually operating Lodge in Tennessee. Chartered in 1809, the Lodge is four years older than the Grand Lodge of Tennessee which it helped constitute in 1813. The first nearly sixty years or so of Hiram Lodge history is fragmented, with most Lodge records dated to 1865 lost or destroyed as a consequence of the Civil War. In spite of this limitation, those early Lodge members found notably included Franklin pioneer merchants; government officials at local, county, state and national levels; three that served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee; one as Governor of Tennessee; and another who organized Tennessee’s first Episcopal congregation in Masonic Hall in 1827, and, three years later, as Bishop, founded the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee. Other brothers had organized the Church of Christ in Franklin. Much later, at least seventy brothers would answer the call for duty in 1861. Known locally as Franklin’s Masonic Temple, Masonic Hall has served as the home of Hiram Lodge since its completion in the mid-1820s, making it the oldest continually operating Masonic Lodge building in the United States. Local historians favor a time of about 1823 for its completion but there is some evidence favoring 1826. This building would represent the front two-thirds of the current building, the remainder provided by a substantial addition in 1856. A brick structure, Masonic Hall was the first three-story building constructed west of the Alleghany Mountains and today is likely one of the last buildings of Gothic Revival architecture remaining in the United States. For decades it rivaled the Court House as the town’s public meeting place and was the temporary place of worship for every religious determination until their churches could be built. This building is the only meeting site between a sitting President and a Native American Nation, President Andrew Jackson having met with a delegation from the Chickasaw Nation in 1826 for a treaty signing. Masonic Hall suffered considerable damage when Franklin was garrisoned by Union forces during the Civil War. The Battle of Franklin saw it hit by errant Union cannon fire from atop Figuer’s Bluff and, in its aftermath, serve as a hospital for Union wounded left on the battlefield by withdrawing federal troops. Reparation for this damage was finally made in 1912 in the amount of $1,200.00. In recognition of its being a national treasure, Masonic Hall has been listed in the National Registry of Historic Places. The building is a featured stop on town walking and Civil War tours. Its preservation as a historic Masonic Lodge building and a town landmark is assured by the brethren of Hiram Lodge.
