The Bunker Hill Masonic Lodge

Masonic Lodge #151

The Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, is the oldest, largest and most widely known fraternal organization in the world.  The Bunker Hill Lodge, No. 151, was chartered January 17, 1856.

Pictured: The Masonic Lodge No. 151 of Bunker Hill

Pictured: Masonic Lodge No. 151 Charter

 Dr. Albert Rodney Sawyer*

1st Master Mason
Lodge 151

Master Mason 1864, 1865, 1866

• Initiated: April 5, 1860
• Passed: April 12, 1860
• Raised: April 19, 1860
• Died: May 21, 1868 

*May 28, 1868 - On Thursday afternoon last, at One o'clock and five minutes, Dr. Albert Rodney Sawyer (former editor of the Gazette) calmly wrapped around him the robes of blessed immortality. (Stanton, Carl, ed. Bunker Hill Revisited: From the Files of The Bunker Hill Gazette and The Bunker Hill News. 1866-1881 ed. Vol. 1. Bunker Hill: Stanton, 2000. 43.)


In the 1920's, the Masons met in the second story rooms above the building on the northeast corner of Warren and Washington Streets.  During the 1930's the meeting site was changed to a room above the former Louie's Barber Shop on West Warren Street.  When this second story was destroyed in the 1948 tornado, the owner, Mr. Mercer, did not replace it.  By 1950, the Masons were able to buy the Drew property on the northeast corner of Franklin and Fayette Streets and build their own lodge.

Pictured: Masonic Lodge No. 151 - Bunker Hill

Pictured: Masonic Lodge No. 151 Ashtray Pedestal

...Read more about this and other Bunker Hill, IL historical stories at https://bunkerhillhistory.org/


--Cite this story: Redford, Carol, and Betty Triplett. "Bunker Hill History." In Reflections: A History of the Bunker Hill-Woodburn Area, p. 151. Bunker Hill: Bunker Hill Publications, 1993. Provided by the Bunker Hill Historical Society.

The Bunker Hill IL Historical Society. "A Look Back in Bunker Hill History." Bunker Hill Gazette-News, November 20, 2014.

The Civil War Soldier's Memorial - 1869

The Civil War Soldier's Memorial - 1869

A monument to Civil War Soldiers was erected in the Bunker Hill Cemetery in 1866 at great expense to local contributors and was highly prized for many years.  It was the scene of patriotic memorial programs, including this one photographed in May 1869.  

Identity of some were noted by numbers, barely visible, on the individuals:

1)E. W. Hayes; 

2)Dr. Brother; 

3)W. O. Jencks; 

4)James True; 

5)James Feeney; 

6)James McPherson; 

7)Sam Smith; 

8)John Brandenburger; 

9)Clark Burton; 

11)John Knibb; 

12)Hans Hansen; 

13)Speaker; 

14)Mr. Eagleson; 

15)John Hayes.  

Photo from the collection of Frances Stadelman

...Read more about this and other Bunker Hill, IL historical stories at https://bunkerhillhistory.org/

--Provided by The Bunker Hill IL Historical Society.

Armistice Day

Pictured are Bill Baker and Otto Brummer, who drove this flag-draped truck in the 1918 Bunker Hill IL Armistice Day Parade.

Veterans' Day is an annual holiday held every November 11.  World War I ended with the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918 between Germany and the Allies, together with the United States.  In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower changed the name to Veterans' Day and dedicated it to the sacrifice made by all United States veterans.

...Read more about this and other Bunker Hill, IL historical stories at https://bunkerhillhistory.org/

--Cite this story: The Bunker Hill Historical Society, "A Look Back in Bunker Hill History." The Bunker Hill Gazette-News 06 November. 2014.