Historical marker tells of Monroe County's oldest building

This week’s featured historical marker is the “MASONIC LODGE No. 3” marker at Perdue Hill, Ala.

The marker is located in front of the old Masonic lodge building at the intersection of U.S. Highway 84 and Monroe County Road 1 at Perdue Hill. There’s printing on both sides of this marker, but the text on both sides is identical. The marker was erected in 1971 by the Alabama Historical Association. What follows is the complete text from the marker:

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“MASONIC LODGE No. 3: Oldest Building in Monroe County, Erected in 1824 with funds from a public lottery. Lower floor served as a Baptist Church and a Court Room in which William B. Travis, then a resident of Claiborne, practiced law. Visited by General Lafayette April 6, 1825. Moved to its present location in 1884. Preserved by the Perdue Hill’s Womans Club.”

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Many of you will remember William B. Travis from your American History books. A teacher and lawyer, he was also a member of Alabama Masonic Lodge No. 3 and started a newspaper called “The Claiborne Herald.” After leaving Claiborne in 1831, he sought his fortunes in Texas and ended up being the commander of the ill-fated Alamo. While Travis is somewhat of a folk hero in Texas, he doesn’t have a great reputation among folks in Monroe County, Ala. This mostly has to do with the fact that he abandoned his wife, son and unborn daughter when he headed west in 1831.

Presumably, Travis was in Claiborne when that river town was visited by General Lafayette in 1825. This visit was part of a grand tour of America that Lafayette made to honor the United States’ 50th birthday. At that time, Lafayette was the last surviving general of the American Revolution and like Travis, he was also a freemason. Lafayette died nine years after his tour of America and is buried in Picpus Cemetery in Paris.

Not only is this old Masonic lodge the oldest building in Monroe County, but it’s also one of the coolest. I first toured its interior while on a history tour as part of Monroe County’s Leadership Now Class in 2006. We had the run of the place and even got to check out the building’s second floor, which was where the Masonic lodge held its meetings.

This building is also considered to be one of the spookiest places in Monroe County. Not only is it supposedly haunted, but it’s also the most prominent building in Perdue Hill, which is pretty much a ghost town at night. With that said, I’ve always wanted to spend the night in this old Masonic lodge. In fact, I’ve even got it on my official “bucket list.”

In the end, visit this site next Wednesday to learn about another local historical marker. I’m also taking suggestions from the reading audience, so if you know of an interesting historical marker that you’d like me to feature, let me know in the comments section below.