History of Ecclesiastes Lodge #818

  In 1958, Horace Ward and nineteen other Brothers decided to demit from Perfection Lodge #116, located in Maysville, North Carolina to Piney Green, North Carolina working under a dispensation granted by the Grand Lodge of North Carolina.  The other Brothers to demit were, R.J. Jones, Charles Simmons, Thomas Newell, Charles Burnett, Sanders Pickett, James Taft, Orneal Horne, Tony Fonville, Robert Tyrance, Lather Pearson, Leaman Tyrance, C. K. Ambrose, W. H. Chadwick, Adock Gibbs, Hugh Hunter, John L. Chadwick, W. H. Perkins, Harvie L. Smith, and George Vereen.

Not wasting anytime, in January, the Brothers held a meeting, and decided to purchase land to build a lodge upon.  Mrs. Rose Dew decreed a piece of land for the Brothers and they named it the Northeast Corner Square.  Until the building was completed, the Brothers were given permission to meet in the Baptism Hall at Marshall Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, across from the current Lodge location, and also in the Community Center located in Kellemtown.

The Brothers worked diligently towards improving themselves in Masonry both physically and emblematically.  They built the Lodge brick by brick and stick by stick, each Brother doing their part until it was complete.  On the 14th day of December 1958, in Open Grand Lodge Session in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, The Grand Lodge of North Carolina issued Ecclesiastes Lodge #818 their Charter.

The first Worshipful Master was Horace Ward and our current is Eddie Linkhorn Jr.  Since then we have had men such as Charles Simmons, James Taft, Floyd Jones, Elbert Lawrence, Alfred G. Ferrell, Wallace Dean Jr., Oscar West, Demetrius Griffin, Horace Ballard, Homer E. Stephenson, Lakendrick D. Wright, Thomas L. Butts, Floyd A. Duhon, Rodney T. Murphy, Clint Carmichael, Daniel I. Lewis and Eddie Linkhorn Jr. serve in this prestigious position.

We want to thank those 20 Brothers that had the initiative to start such a magnificent Lodge, and although sitting in the East may be difficult, it has been an honor and a privilege to say that we are Past Masters of Ecclesiastes Lodge #818 aka “The Lodge of Involvement” and “The Great 818”.  Thank You.