Thomas J Rusk Lodge #225
The Thomas J Rusk Houston Heights Lodge #225 has been active over 100 years and our lodge building was recognized as a historical structure recently. Officers listed on the building cornerstone were: W. E. Sittler, President M. A. Case, Vice President S. H. Webber, Treasurer G. W. Hawkins, Secretary D. J. Holt, A. C. Morris, and C. H. Cheves, Directors.
"In 1905, a group of Odd Fellows residing in Houston Heights petitioned the Grand Lodge of Texas to charter a lodge in their area. As the Houston Heights area grew, so too did the lodge, becoming one of the most active Odd Fellows lodges in the Houston area. They boasted 43 members in their first year-end report. Members included William G. Love, first mayor of Houston Heights and the namesake of Love Elementary School Hugh Cook Colley, noted civil servant and George Hawkins, one of the first Houstonians to own an automobile.
At first, the lodge rented meeting space in the Wallace & Johnson Building on 19th at Ashland. In 1906, members of the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias jointly built "Fraternal Hall" on 12th at Yale, but it was destroyed by an electrical fire in 1911. For the next dozen years, the lodge met in a room over member Fred Dexter's General Store on 17th at Rutland.
In February 1923, the Heights Odd Fellows Hall Association purchased a lot on 14th just east of Heights Blvd. and began construction of a two-story building, which was dedicated on April 28, 1923. The first floor contains offices, informal spaces, and a kitchen the formal lodge meeting room is upstairs. The exterior of the building features a variegated brick veneer with door and window openings accented by contrasting brick trim. Decorative features such as roof brackets on the front of the building and exposed rafter ends along the sides echo the many Craftsman-style bungalows in Houston Heights. Today, the Odd Fellows still host regular meetings in the same building that has served them for a century."
Please contact us for more information or if you would like to become a member.
"In 1905, a group of Odd Fellows residing in Houston Heights petitioned the Grand Lodge of Texas to charter a lodge in their area. As the Houston Heights area grew, so too did the lodge, becoming one of the most active Odd Fellows lodges in the Houston area. They boasted 43 members in their first year-end report. Members included William G. Love, first mayor of Houston Heights and the namesake of Love Elementary School Hugh Cook Colley, noted civil servant and George Hawkins, one of the first Houstonians to own an automobile.
At first, the lodge rented meeting space in the Wallace & Johnson Building on 19th at Ashland. In 1906, members of the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias jointly built "Fraternal Hall" on 12th at Yale, but it was destroyed by an electrical fire in 1911. For the next dozen years, the lodge met in a room over member Fred Dexter's General Store on 17th at Rutland.
In February 1923, the Heights Odd Fellows Hall Association purchased a lot on 14th just east of Heights Blvd. and began construction of a two-story building, which was dedicated on April 28, 1923. The first floor contains offices, informal spaces, and a kitchen the formal lodge meeting room is upstairs. The exterior of the building features a variegated brick veneer with door and window openings accented by contrasting brick trim. Decorative features such as roof brackets on the front of the building and exposed rafter ends along the sides echo the many Craftsman-style bungalows in Houston Heights. Today, the Odd Fellows still host regular meetings in the same building that has served them for a century."
Please contact us for more information or if you would like to become a member.
Main Details
Listing Details
Lodge Address
Meeting Date
1st, 2nd,& 4th Tuesday 7:30pm
Secretary
Bill Carson
Facebook Link
Jurisdiction
Lodge Type
Status
A
(Status Codes A = Active, I = Inactive, C = Closed)
(Status Codes A = Active, I = Inactive, C = Closed)
Map
Fun Facts:IOOF traces its roots to England’s “odd trades” guilds in the 1700s, where workers in miscellaneous trades banded together for mutual aid. This origin story explains the “odd” in Odd Fellows.
Kudos:
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