Historic Lodge Likely To Be Demolished-Dalton, Georgia

Masonic Lodge No. 238 is a mixed-use commercial building in Dalton, Georgia. On the first floor were different stores, but on the second floor, it was the local lodge for Black men in the town of Dalton. The lodge was built in 1915 by Dutch Hanson, Thomas Cunningham, Jim Richards, Dan Smith, and Harrison Jackson.

The lodge was built in an area of Dalton that was considered the heart of the Black community. Despite being placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996, the building has fallen into disrepair. In 2019, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation placed it on its list of Places in Peril. In April 2023, City Council voted to have the building demolished. The city has currently held off demolition while giving members a chance to identify funding support until the end of the year.

Images below are from the NRHP application.

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