The white building at 710 Howard Street in New Bern is easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. Tucked away on a small lot behind Cedar Grove Cemetery, its modest wood and brick exterior offers few clues that it is in fact one of the city’s most important, and unique, historical structures.
Thanks to an ongoing restoration project, King Solomon Lodge No. 1, the first Black Masonic lodge established in North Carolina, is finally getting the recognition it deserves.
According to the head of the King Solomon Lodge Restoration Committee, the goal is to reconstruct and reopen the building as not only a respected emblem of New Bern’s past but as a fully functioning space for the education and guidance of its future leaders.
Fred Smith, who formerly served as worshipful master of King Solomon Lodge, explained that the building was originally constructed in 1870 and was one of the only structures north of Queen Street to survive New Bern’s Great Fire of 1922. The following year, King Solomon Lodge was moved to its current location on Howard Street to make way for the expansion of the nearby cemetery.
Smith said the building was still being used as a masonic meeting place in 2019 when it became obvious that the lodge had become so badly deteriorated that nature had begun making its way indoors.
“We were looking outside through the walls, and it was raining on the inside,” remembered Smith. “One day when we were looking to see what we could come up with to fix the walls, two of the members from the New Bern Preservation Foundation asked what they could do to help.”
Through a partnership between the lodge members and the foundation, a committee was established that set up a bank account and brought a grant writer onboard to fund restoration efforts.
The group hired MBF Architects of New Bern and Camden Woodworks from Camden, N.C. to oversee the work, which involves maintaining as much of the building’s character as possible from circa-1920, the earliest known date when photos exist of the lodge.
“Whatever the photos showed the project was in the beginning, that’s what we went back with,” Smith explained. “We stripped everything down to what is the basic building and took a look at it. When we get finished it will be a fully functional building that looks like it did in 1920.”
Smith said the repair efforts began by installing a new standing-seam roof. One of the building’s most recognizable features, the original cupola that once served as a ventilation system, has been retained, Smith said.
“That became a nightmare because it was actually raining through there into the building. So now it’s not functional anymore, it’s just cosmetic,” he explained.
Following the roof work, custom siding and windows were added to the exterior and power lines and plumbing infrastructure that were once on the outside of the lodge were buried underground.
“The plumbing used to go up the wall outside. We said, ‘That’s not a good look,’ so we fixed that while we were working,” Smith noted.
Visitors to King Solomon Lodge can also view some of the building’s original exterior “skeleton” as Smith describes it. The cinder block sheathing that once covered the ground floor has been removed to reveal the late 19th century brick foundation underneath.
The restoration plan does, however, make several nods to modern improvements. Upgrades to the building include a rebuilt porch and exterior stairwell and the addition of an emergency exit and 21st century installation.
The building’s interior is also under renovation.
Smith said the original flooring and stairwell, with some needed repairs, are being maintained as well as the second-floor ceiling.
“All the windows have been custom built and all the siding was milled to match what was done back in 1920,” Smith said.
Smith explained that King Solomon Lodge members met in person prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and have held meetings via Zoom since then. In addition to the male Masonic members, the lodge also serves a chapter of the Eastern Star, which is open to women. Young men and women are also welcome to join.
Smith said King Solomon Lodge currently has approximately 45 Masons and around the same number of Eastern Star members. Meetings will once again be held at the lodge once the work there is completed, he vowed.
“We have the intention of going back in and getting things set up and as soon as we can, we will,” Smith said.
‘It’s been an adventure’
Prior to the current restoration project, Smith said lodge members did their best to patch up the building in makeshift fashion for decades.
“They got the old windows from a salvage company and did their own drywall and woodwork,” he said. “That’s the only way they knew to do it. Everyone has done something to keep the building so that they could use it.”
Smith said thus far the restoration committee has raised $380,000 in funding, with a goal of bringing in $550,000. He admitted however, that more money will likely be required to pay for added expenses, such as the completion of the building’s ground level.
“We’re going to have committee rooms in there and storage space and room for our archives,” he noted. “That’s a part of the project that we added on, so it wasn’t included in the original estimate.”
Although he didn’t have a definite timeline for completion, Smith said he hoped to see work finished by the end of the year.
“Whenever that date is, we’ll have a celebration out here for all the people involved, all the donors and the ones who have contributed their efforts and expertise,” he commented.
A New Bern native whose career has spanned service in the US Army as well as work for both Carolina Telephone and Weyerhaeuser, Smith described the restoration of King Solomon Lodge as “one of the greatest things I’ve been involved in.”
“This is the biggest, most enduring project I’ve been a part of,” he said. “The main reason is I learned so much about restoration, the things that were required for the 1870s. As the historians will tell you, that was a different world. It’s been an adventure.”
By Todd Wetherington, co-editor. Send an email with questions or comments.