Fraternity, Indemnity and Relief; Fraternity, Aid and Protection; Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth — the mottos of 19th century secret societies succinctly define their purpose. By and large, in their idealized form at least, these organizations were created to provide a network of support and fraternity for their members. As is too often the case, principles bend to convenience and the esteemed values of the orders were occasionally sullied by human flaws. So it was that embezzlement scandals rocked the Order of Chosen Friends (OCF) and the Independent Order of Chosen Friends (IOCF) in 1884 — two organizations that had local councils operating in Lakeport. So widespread was this phenomenon that the California state senate and assembly held hearings on the matter in 1890-91, in an attempt to flush out the scammers from the authentic fraternities operating in the state.
It’s difficult to judge how the OCF and IOCF scandals affected the operations of their Lake County councils. The chest of documents donated to the museum, full of membership receipts and books on policy and procedures, suggest that at least these local chapters continued undaunted. Perhaps Lake County’s geographic isolation acted as a buffer from the rot that had taken hold in other more cosmopolitan branches. Within these local lodges the principles of the two societies appear to have found purchase; their mottos that expounded upon relief and protection had actually been translated into action.
Just as no man is an island, so the local OCF and IOCF lodges in Lake County were themselves co-dependent on other fraternal societies operating in the area. Among the most popular were the Freemasons, which I discussed in last week’s article. Although today lesser known than the Freemasons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows had a wider reach in Lake County than any other society of the day. The Odd Fellows can trace their North American roots back to the opening of the first lodge in 1806 in New York City. The founding members of this lodge were three boat builders, a comedian and a vocalist — an odd group indeed! Their tenets were remarkably similar to other organizations of the 19th century, including Freemasonry, whose roots go even further back in history. Like Freemasonry, Odd Fellowship made its way to California in the hearts and minds of intrepid gold seekers in 1849 and by the end of the 1850s was well-established.
The Odd Fellows first came to Lake County in 1868 (the same year as the Freemasons) with the creation of Friendship Lodge No. 150 in the small town of Guenoc. Like the rest of the businesses in that small hamlet, the lodge picked up and moved to Middletown in 1871 and built a larger lodge building in 1876. For the most part the Odd Fellows in Lake County had more capital than other societies and put that money to building lodge buildings wherever a new group sprung up. The Lakeport chapter of Odd Fellows (Lupyoma Lodge No. 173, sometimes spelled Lup-Yomi) was created in 1870 and quickly built themselves a building on Main Street.
Rather than just meeting spaces for the Odd Fellows themselves, these buildings also served important functions in the community. They acted as dance halls, churches (the Episcopal congregation in Lakeport held services in the Odd Fellows lodge in the 1880s) and rented space for businesses. In fact, before moving to their own building on Main Street, the Bank of Lake first opened doors in the bottom floor of the Odd Fellow’s hall down the street.
Many of the early masonic lodges, including Hartley in Lakeport and Clear Lake in Lower Lake, used the buildings owned and operated by the Odd Fellows for their own ceremonies and meetings. They were not alone. When Bertha Council No. 110 of the OCF was created in 1882, it held its regular meetings in the Odd Fellows building. Ironically, in this same building the offshoot IOCF held its own meetings (on a separate day of the week from the OCF, of course). Adding to this already crowded space came local chapters of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the American Legion of Honor. Scheduling the use of the ritual room must have been quite a challenge! Of course the Odd Fellows didn’t complain since the rent coming in from these different organizations allowed the Odd Fellows themselves to continue operating.
The interconnectedness of fraternalism in Lake County went beyond mere space. Members of one fraternity frequently held membership in one or two others. Dr. Crumpton, one of the leading forces behind the creation of the Lakeport Council No. 70 of the IOCF in 1882 was himself already an Odd Fellow and member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. It was due to this close relationship that the wooden chest of OCF and ICOF documents made their way into the hands of Hartley Lodge of Freemasons in the first place. You see, when Hartley Lodge built its new building in 1906 (still located at 375 N. Main St. Lakeport), all the other societies (including the Odd Fellows, whose membership had decreased by then) moved into the new building too. They inevitably brought with them the tools of their trade and emptied the old Odd Fellows lodge of its contents, including the wooden chest. This scenario would also explain how, at the very bottom of the chest, we found a booklet on the Constitutions and By-Laws of Lupyoma Lodge, No. 173 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Like some sort of secret society nesting doll, there was a booklet for the Odd Fellows in a chest belonging to the Order of Chosen Friends and the Independent Order of Chosen Friends found in the vault of Hartley Lodge #199 of Freemasons. From the Odd Fellows hall to Hartley Lodge to the Historic Courthouse Museum, these documents have finally found their permanent residence. The stories they tell go beyond the few articles I have written here, so be prepared to someday soon see an exhibit in the museum about secret societies of Lake County.
Tony Pierucci is Curator of Lake County Museums
