Benjamin Franklin Lodge #83, Madison, WI

It is no secret that I'm a history buff. I like visiting historic places, poking around cemeteries, and ambling along streets where the original architecture has been preserved. Indeed, one of my favorite things to do while on such outings is to look for fraternal emblems. Some of the first permanent buildings constructed in American towns belonged to fraternal organizations. Look up along the roof lines and you may see Freemasonry's square and compass, the "I.O.O.F." and linked chain of the Odd Fellows, or perhaps the name of an otherwise forgotten ethnic club. I'm strange. For me, this is like finding buried treasure.

The City of Middleton, Wisconsin, is representative of most Midwestern communities. From its founding in 1857, it slowly grew up around its most important feature - a train depot. By the mid-1870s, the then Village of Middleton had only 300 residents, with another 1400 residing in the surrounding township. Nevertheless, it, like its much larger neighbor Madison, was a hotbed of fraternalism. What follows is a little bit of the history of that period.

Bro. Robert C. Blackburn

“Secrets” of Old Middleton by Robert C. Blackburn, reprinted from Middleton Area Historical Society Newsletter, No. 133, Sept. 2006, pp. 3-4.

All communities have their secrets. In 19th-century America, however, one’s community and peers were often defined by secrets. This was the golden age of fraternalism and the United States had literally hundreds of such organizations. Each had their own “mystic” tradition and esoteric rites. For most, these groups served a purely social purpose. Others joined secret societies for business connections, financial protection, and even insurance benefits. All found - in an age before T.V. and the Internet - an appreciated escape from everyday life. What follows are Middleton’s very first “secrets.”

Middleton Lodge, I.O.G.T. (1866): I.O.G.T. stood for Independent Order of Good Templars. Middleton’s chapter was organized on March 2, 1866. Charter members included: R. Green; R.E. Davis; J. Parmenter; J.W. Bush; G. Murray; Sarah Barber; Emerette Davis; Mary Murray; A. Maud Green; H. Colby; D. Meredith; M. Dunn; P.S. Meredith; M.D. Meredith; M. Kerrighan; A. Colby; T. Scott; J. Middlemore; Sarah Barber; A.L. Parmenter. The I.O.G.T. was a temperance fraternity. Founded in Utica, New York, in 1851, its members preformed initiation rituals, wore regalia such as aprons and sashes, and took oaths not to drink liquor or reveal the group’s secrets. At a time when Middleton had six saloons and only two churches (serving, admittedly, five religious denominations) perhaps there was a need for this group. The I.O.G.T. still exists today, though it is now called the International Order of Good Templars and operates worldwide.

Middleton Lodge No. 158, I.O.O.F. (1868): I.O.O.F. stands for Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Middleton’s Odd Fellows lodge was formed on October 10, 1868. R.E. Davis was its first Noble Grand or presiding officer. Other charter members included: N.C. Rowley; John Prien; G.W. Murray; J. Drives; D. Brush; C. Klauber; H. Chuster; J. Parmenter; C. Moll; A.B. Parmenter; C. Lamert; J. Tideman; W. Hagel; H.L. Hyde. The I.O.O.F. traces its history back to 18th-century England. Rich in symbolism, the I.O.O.F. is also known as the “Three Link Fraternity” (the links being Friendship, Love, and Truth). During the 19th-century, members enjoyed not only fellowship but insurance benefits as well. Today, Odd Fellows appear focused primarily on fraternalism and philanthropy. Middleton’s Odd Fellows Hall, a white wood frame building and later, after the 1900 fire, a brick structure, was formerly located on the southeast corner of Parmenter and Elmwood Streets.

Mendota Encampment No. 34, I.O.O.F. (1869): This higher Odd Fellows order was organized in Middleton on July 27, 1869. It also met in Odd Fellows Hall. J.W. Hudson was its first Grand Patriarch or presiding officer. Other charter members included: R.E. Davis; G.W. Murray; N.C. Rowley; C. Klauber; John Tiedeman; John Prien; J.W. Bradley; A.B. Parmenter.

Middleton Lodge No. 180, A.F. & A.M. (1870): A.F. & A.M. stands for Ancient, Free & Accepted Masons. Middleton Lodge No. 180 held its first meeting on January 27, 1870, above the J. Green & Co. Store (the building still stands today at the northwest corner of Parmenter and Hubbard Streets). Mansfield Arries, Jr. was its first Worshipful Master or presiding officer. Other charter members included: James M. Bull; Hiram P. Rider; Elisha Bailey; W.J. Taylor; Charles Klauber; Richard Green; William A. Wheeler; J.B. Colton; Frank Gault; Eli Harding; A.B. Kingsley; N.C. Rowley; A.A. Rowley; C.R. Chipman; R.E. Davis; Samuel Barber; John Green. The Masons are one of the world’s oldest secular fraternities and, arguably, the most famous. Likely deriving from medieval stonemasons’ guilds, modern Freemasonry arose in Great Britain in the early to mid 1600s. Its three ritual dramas, or “degrees,” concern the building of King Solomon’s Temple and teach universal moral and spiritual truths. Of Middleton’s first secrets societies, only the Masons remain today. The lodge’s name, however, has been changed to Middleton-Ionic Lodge No. 180, F. & A.M.

Society No. 1, The Ancient Order of the Mendotas (1872): The Mendotas were a national temperance fraternity conceived, developed, and founded in Middleton, Wisconsin. Its first meeting was held on June 17, 1872. Unfortunately, local members can not be identified. This order, however, claimed its antiquity from alleged Native American traditions and ceremonies, including those of the Aztecs and Mayans. Its members bore mystic titles such as “Queen,” “Sachem,” “Warrior,” and “Squaw.”

Middleton Grange, Patrons of Husbandry (1873): Middleton’s Grange was formed on March 14, 1873. Charter members included: M. Anderson; W.C. Williams; Charles Elver; E.S. Hunt; W.H. Outhouse; Daniel Vernon; John Lohes; W. Whitney; Fritz Laubake; George Gyte; Joseph Goodwin; C. Heintz; William Shackelbury; William Sanford; William Hallowell; Henry Sanford; Edward Bell; Francis Hallowell; Fred Hilgast; Mary B. Anderson; Charlotte Williams; Minnie Elver; Mrs. E.S. Hunt; Mrs. W.H. Outhouse; Mary Vernon; Mrs. John Lohes; Mrs. G. W. Sanford. The Grange began in Washington, D.C. in 1867. Its original mission was to create direct cooperatives between farmers and consumers and to provide social activities for isolated farm families. Borrowing from the Masons, the Grange formerly had four degrees and its own symbolic “working tools” for conducting its rituals. Men proceeded from “Laborer” to “Husbandman,” and women from “Maid” to “Matron.” The Grange remains the nation’s oldest agricultural organization.

Camp No. 2177, M.W.A. (1894): M.W.A. stands for “Modern Woodmen of America.” Middleton’s Camp No. 2177 was chartered on March 6, 1894. Its first officers were W.F. Pierstorff, W.J. Manning, and E.V. Williams. The M.W.A. began as a fraternal benefit society in Lyons, Iowa in 1882. Also mimicking the Masons, “Woodmen” originally had three initiation rituals, symbolic working tools (the “axe,” “wedge,” and “beetle”), secret handshakes, and passwords. The M.W.A. continues to offer its members fraternalism and insurance benefits.

19th-century secret societies provided many important benefits to their members, not the least of which was a sense of community. Indeed, it has been said of this period that a town was not truly established until it had its own Masonic lodge. Middleton’s secrets societies began appearing ten years after the village was platted. They were, in fact, a very public statement that Middleton was here to stay. During this Sesquicentennial year, it is interesting to recall these early social organizations and the role they played in shaping Middleton’s development and identity.