25-04-2025
Tour the 200-year-old Masonic Lodge in Franklin
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Freemasons claim to be the largest fraternity in the world. Hit films like 'The Da Vinci Code' showcase the mystery surrounding these men. News 2 travelled to Franklin where one of the oldest Freemason lodges in the state has stood tall for more than 200 years.
Freemason Bruce Barker, a previous master of Hiram Lodge No. 7, unlocked the history behind this beautiful brick building on Franklin's Second Avenue for News 2.
'Andrew Jackson stood on this step and spoke to five Indian nations,' said Barker, standing outside the lodge.
Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 7 claims the title of the longest continuously operating Masonic Lodge in all of Tennessee. Construction started in 1823, and 200 years later, senior warden at the lodge, Jeffery Paul Pedigo, feels a deep connection to this building.
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'I see things that people I'm related to might have felt, seen, smelled, touch, and I feel a part of it,' said Pedigo. 'One of my favorite parts is the stain-glass window when you walk in.'
The Freemasons have owned Hiram Lodge since day one, but over the centuries, they have graciously opened their doors to the community. Perhaps one of the most consequential historical moments was the Treaty of Franklin in 1830. In the first floor meeting room, President Andrew Jackson held negotiations with Chickasaw Nation to give up their land and move west.
'You are now walking in a building that Andrew Jackson and chiefs of five Indian Tribes, teachers, community leaders. If these walls could talk kind of moment,' explained Barker in the main meeting room.
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Fast forward 30 years after the Treaty, and the Civil War was underway. Again, the Freemasons opened the lodge to the public as a field hospital during the Battle of Franklin.
'This is some graffiti during the Civil War,' Barker said, as he showed the preserved etchings on what is a now a restroom wall.
In the 20th century, schools and churches also used the lodge, but at its heart, the brick building has stood strong as a home base for the Freemasons. News 2 was allowed to step inside one of the ceremonial rooms where they hold their secret meetings.
Many of the discussions in the room can not be made public, but these men are adamant their focus is not secrecy; it's about bettering themselves and their community.
'The secret is that there's no secret,' said Pedigo. 'The real secret is that you can look inward and find the secret to living, and that's what we are here to teach people.'
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Hiram Lodge No. 7 is starting to show the passage of time; its seven layers of paint is starting to peel. But, a multimillion dollar restoration effort is just getting started to keep one of Tennessee's oldest building arounds for the ages.
'It's been here for 200 years, and all of us now think it's incumbent upon us to make sure it's here for another 200 years.'
Hiram Lodge No. 7 is listed as a National Historic Landmark. Click here for information on its restoration efforts.
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