Former IOOF Lodge - Perkins, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 58.431 W 097° 02.015
14S E 677297 N 3982835
Once the home of the Odd Fellows Lodge in Perkins.
Waymark Code: WMHV3A
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 08/14/2013
Views: 8
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows was first established in American in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 26, 1819. The IOOF is a global altruistic and benevolent fraternal organization derived from the British Oddfellows service organizations of the 17th century. The Order is also known as "The Three Link Fraternity", referring to the Order's "Triple Links" logo - three links contain the letters F, L and T, (Friendship, Love and Truth).
Odd Fellowship became the first fraternity in the U.S. to include both men and women when it adopted the "Beautiful Rebekah Degree" on September 20, 1851. Odd Fellows and Rebekahs were the first U.S. fraternal organizations to establish homes for senior members and for orphaned children.
[information taken from Wikipedia]
This two-story brick and stone building was constructed in 1890 and is part of the Perkins Downtown Historic District. It was built by William Knipe, who was instrumental in establishing the town of Perkins in 1892. His business was the oldest in Perkins and operated out of this building. It was also the first post office and the first telephone service building.
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) had its meeting place on the second floor of this building, according to the nomination application for the National Register of Historic Places. There is an iron staircase on the north side of the building, leading from the ground to a second floor doorway, for access to the old IOOF meeting house. [Documentation of this IOOF meeting place can be found on Page 15 of the National Register nomination application - second to last paragraph beginning with "Established in 1890,..." (
visit link) ]