For the first two and a half decades of its existence the lodge met on the upper floor of a Billiard Hall on Carson Avenue. Finally, in 1936 this building was completed, thus providing the lodge with a home of its own.
Today not only the Masons, but the Order of the Eastern Star, Chapter 71, and the Royal Arch Masons, Chapter 43, all meet in the building.
A brass plaque mounted on the southeast corner of the building, referring to itself as a Cornerstone, states that it was laid on September 24, 1988 "
To Commemorate the 75th Anniversary.". This doubtless refers to this lodge, as it was established in 1913. The plaque, in its entirety, reads as follows.
QUESNEL MASONIC LODGE #69
CORNERSTONE LAID ON SEPTEMBER 24, 1988
TO COMMEMORATE THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY
BY
RT. WORSHIPFUL BRO. JOE BARE D.D.G.M.
A.F. & A.M. OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
MASTER
WOR. BRO. W.H. (BILL) JAMES
Masonic Temple
Description
The Masonic Temple is a large single storey rectangular hall style building constructed in 1936 located on the northeast corner of Front Street and Shepherd Avenue in Downtown Quesnel, BC. The historic place includes the building and the parcel of land it occupies.
Heritage Value
The Masonic Temple is located in Downtown Quesnel which is the commercial and administrative center of the city. The building is a physical reminder of the organizations that shaped the development of Quesnel.
The Freemason’s Brotherhood has had roots in eastern Canada for many years. The first lodge was established in Halifax in 1750 by Governor Edward Cornwallis. Many of the original Freemasons in Quesnel were from eastern Masonic Lodges. They had come west to the Quesnel area to mine for gold and they wanted to have their own branch. In 1866, Williams Creek at Barkerville was the first Freemason Lodge. It became the Cariboo Lodge No. 469 A. F. & A. M. in 1867. The Freemasons in Quesnel wanted to have their own lodge. In 1913, Quesnel Lodge No. 269, A. F. & A. M. was established.
The Freemasons have occupied the Masonic Temple since it was constructed by local contractor C. E. Markle. George Johnston, of Johnston Brothers Motors, was the first man to join the new lodge in Quesnel. His father was a member in Barkerville. Many pioneering businessmen in Quesnel were Freemasons. Charles Allison was the first Master of the Quesnel Masonic Lodge and later became the District Deputy of Grand Lodge of BC. From 1911 until the completion of this building in 1936, the Freemasons occupied the upper floor of A. J. Elliott’s Tobacco and Billiard Hall on Carson Avenue.
Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements of the Masonic Temple include:
-
a simple large single storey wood framed building situated on a raised foundation adding to its stature;
- very few windows;
- a steeply pitched gable roof;
- a long rectangular hall style form;
- a decorative round window in the peak of the roof on the façade;
- a covered stairway entrance with pediment;
- stucco exterior.
From the Quesnel Heritage Register