Lodge History

Oothcaloga Lodge No. 154 was chartered on October 30, 1851. Early records indicate that the Lodge originally set its meetings for the first and third Tuesdays of each month, reflecting the established customs of the Craft during that period.

Over the course of its history, the Lodge has met in several locations within Calhoun. Documented meeting places include the upper floors of commercial buildings in the downtown area during the early twentieth century. By at least the early 1930s, the Lodge met on the third floor of the Calhoun National Bank Building, located at the corner of Wall Street and Court Street. In later years, the Lodge established its present home at 900 Oothcalooga Street, Calhoun, Georgia, which remains its current location.

The history of the Lodge is inseparably connected to the history of the City of Calhoun itself. The area was originally known as Oothecaloga, a name derived from a Cherokee word commonly translated as “place of the beaver dams.” The settlement was later briefly known as Dawsonville before being renamed Calhoun in 1850, in honor of American statesman John C. Calhoun. The city was incorporated shortly thereafter and became the county seat of the newly formed Gordon County. Situated near New Echota, the last capital of the Cherokee Nation, Calhoun occupies a significant place in the early history of northwest Georgia.

As the city grew with the arrival of the railroad and expanding commerce, Oothcaloga Lodge No. 154 stood as a steady and enduring institution, contributing to the moral, civic, and fraternal life of the community for more than a century and a half.