This sad looking building in northeast Spokane (Hillyard, actually) was an important social hub back in the day. It was built to serve the booming railroad community that sprang up after James J. Hill decided to avoid Spokane taxes and build his railroad shops in that area..which ultimately was named after him.
In the 1880s, Spokane was becoming the premier rail hub of the west and tycoon James J. Hill wanted it on his Great Northern line to the coast. Hill had the "hutzpah" and pulled the right strings to achieve his goal. The Hillyard yard became the biggest rail shop west of the Mississippi.
To help the families and the workers, several fraternal organizations sprang up in the area. The Odd Fellows Hall was one. Located on North Market Street, the hall hosted community dances, meetings and charitable gatherings but the purpose of the organization was to "visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan." Since one goal of the group was to provide burial for its members, they established Resthaven Cemetery (now Evergreen Cemetery). The building was completed in 1896.
According to an article in The Spokesman Review, March 7, 1996, "Built by lodge members from Waverly, it opened on March 17, 1896, according to John Nunn, a member who keeps many of the lodge's historical documents." The article spotlighted that the Lodge's centennial celebration was being held on March 10, 1996, with members planning a picnic "and the lodge will lay out its old photographs and letters, dues ledgers, attendance books and documents, including the original deed that passed the property to the lodge."
The question screaming into my mind is where are those documents today????? My husband's grandfather worked for the railroad in Hillyard in the 1920s..... might he have been a member of this lodge? Wouldn't we like to access these records of our ancestors?
P.S. In 1900, there were about 170 Odd Fellows Lodges in Washington; some 25 are still active today.
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