The Oliver Ames Masonic Temple lies on the third floor of Oakes Ames Memorial Hall (“Hall”), originally built in 1881 and later named in honor of Massachusetts Governor and Freemason Oliver Ames (1831-1895).
The Temple was designed by famous architect Henry Hobson Richardson, who was also a Freemason. In 1885, The American Architect and Building News, then the leading architectural journal in the country, published the findings of a survey to determine the ten best U.S. buildings. Seventy-five architects responded, mentioning 175 buildings. Richardson’s Trinity Church in Boston was declared the best building in America, and Easton’s Oakes Ames Memorial Hall came in tenth. Of the buildings selected, Richardson had designed five of them.
The Hall’s landscaping was done by the famous landscaper Frederick Law Olmsted, who also did the landscaping for The George Washington Masonic National Memorial in D.C., which is considered to be the most significant Masonic landmark, and distinguished monument to Washington, ever built by a private organization.
Gov. Ames had the entire top floor of the Hall reserved and designed expressly for the Masonic apartments of Easton’s Paul Dean Lodge, of which Gov. Ames was a member. Historical records from Paul Dean Lodge revealed an entry, dated November 22, 1881, mentioning the newly constructed Masonic Temple dedicated to them by Gov. Ames: “By the generosity of our late Brother Oliver Ames these apartments were beautifully decorated and furnished with furniture from a lodge room in Booths Theatre of New York, all without expense to us.”
Historical records of Paul Dean Lodge also included the original letter from Gov. Ames, dated November 2, 1881, informing Paul Dean Lodge of his intentions to dedicate the use of the Temple to them: “To the Worshipful Master, Wardens and Brethren of Paul Dean Lodge – It gives me great pleasure to inform you that I have fitted up and furnished the third floor of the Oakes Ames Memorial Hall Building for the use of your Lodge. It is proposed to deed the Building to a Corporation, who shall grant you the free use of the above named premises so long as you shall desire. The expense of heating, lighting and caring for the same to be yours. Trusting that you will accept my tender to you as above stated, with my best wishes for your future welfare and prosperity – I am Fraternally yours, Oliver Ames.”
The Masonic apartments were not only elegant in their furnishings, but exquisite in their decor. The ceiling included a painted, starry-decked heaven with striking symmetrical patterns, and a large all-seeing eye. This painted ceiling is the only remaining original surface in the whole building today. Masonic emblems, including the hourglass, scythe, anchor and ark, beehive and others, were displayed on panels around the lodge room, where the walls met with the ceiling. All of this decoration was surely hand-painted by some truly celebrated artists. No expense was spared by Gov. Ames in making this one of the most beautiful Masonic lodge rooms in the area.
The Oakes Ames Memorial Hall building was officially dedicated to the inhabitants of Easton on November 1, 1881. The Masonic Temple was publicly dedicated to Masonic purposes on November 22, 1881, by Most Worshipful Samuel A. Lawrence, Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts, with many prominent Masons and citizens in attendance.
The contents of this page were largely based on the research and efforts of Worshipful Gerald B. Nordling, Freemason and Past Master of Paul Dean Lodge, which has since merged with Paul Revere Lodge in Brockton. To learn more about the fascinating history behind the furniture once used in the Oliver Ames Masonic Temple, click here and read Gerald B. Nordling’s intriguing article Provenance of Paul Dean Lodge Furniture.
