"Pacific Lodge 86 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows was established at Washington in 1855, making it the oldest fraternal organization in Washington.
"The name Pacific was chosen due to the fact that the founding members were employees of the Pacific Railroad which had arrived at Washington that same year, according to Marc Houseman, Washington Historical Society Museum director.
"The nearby town of Pacific was at that time known as Franklin, Houseman said.
"Odd Fellowship originated in England. The name was derived from the fact that it was considered “odd” that groups of people met for the purpose of charity, first and foremost.
"In 1819, Thomas Wildey established the first Odd Fellows Lodge in the United States at Baltimore, Md. Within just a few decades, Odd Fellowship spread throughout this country and became one of the largest fraternal societies in the world.
"The first Lodge room in Washington was on the third floor of the Louis Wehrmann building on Jefferson Street. A fire there in 1868 destroyed the early records of the Lodge, but since that time, a complete set of meeting minutes, membership rosters and other significant paperwork and artifacts survives.
"Next, the Lodge met at the Voss Bazaar store on Main Street, later Kruel’s 5 and 10 Cent Store, more recently known as Art Center building.
"About 1955, the Lodge moved its meeting place to the old Elks Lodge building which stood at Jefferson and Third streets. In the early 1990s, a building was erected on the grounds of the cemetery.
"In 1865, the Lodge was 10 years old and a couple of members had died. Following the commandment of Odd Fellowship to bury the dead, it was decided that a cemetery be established." ~ The Missourian,