Calaveras County Points of Interest
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Masonic Hall in background. Ruined building in foreground.
The ruined building was possibly the Milton Schoolhouse.
All Photos 7 December 2012
(Click Photos to Zoom)
17020 Flint Street
Milton
Built 1871 in Copperopolis
Moved 1881 to Milton
Destroyed by Fire 2016
This is the simplest and most mysterious Masonic Hall we have encountered. It has no ornamentation and no windows.
The building was constructed in Copperopolis in 1871 as a saloon. Later it became a town hall.
In 1881, it was purchased by Keystone Lodge No. 161 and moved from Copperopolis to Milton.
A marker mounted on a stone in front of the building reads:
Keystone Lodge No. 161, F. & A. M. instituted in Copperopolis, Dec. 19, 1862, at the height of the copper mining boom. Moved, 1881, to Milton, the terminal of the Stockton & Copperopolis Railroad, which, because of the collapse of copper mining, never reached its intended goal. Dedicated to the memory of those who sought to perpetuate the moral teachings of Freemasonry. To them we gratefully acknowledge our debt.
Grand Lodge F. & A .M. of California
Dec. 19, 1962
The building was destroyed by fire on 23 January 2016.
Some Masonic Halls in California
Alameda, Benicia, Berkeley, Camptonville, Colfax, Columbia, Daly City, Downieville, Ferndale, Fort Bragg, Grass Valley, Greenville, Hornitos, Jamestown, Knights Ferry, Mendocino, Milton, Murphys, Nevada City, North Bloomfield, Orland, Sacramanto, Sacramanto (Eastern Star Hall), Saint Helena, San Francisco (1849), San Francisco (1911), Shasta State Historic Park, Sonoma, Suison City, Susanville, Tehama, Vallejo, Westwood, Wheatland, Willows, Woodbridge
Other Masonic Halls in The American West
Ashland, Oregon; Austin, Nevada; Genoa, Nevada; Gardnerville, Nevada
Buildings that Moved
It's not just that the people of the American West are restless, the buildings themselves sometimes pack up and move when - for one reason or another - the neighborhood no longer suits them or the neighbors no longer want them or opportunity waits down the road.
And when buildings remain in place, they are often searching for their identities.
Acting Superintendent's Office, Yosemite
Alford-Nielson House, Ferndale
Alpine Hotel, Markleeville
Ashland Depot Hotel, Ashland, Oregon
Auburn Fire House No. 1, Auburn
Bagby Stationhouse, El Portal
Bayview Hotel, Aptos
Bridgeport Elementary School, Mono County
Calvary Presbyterian Church, Bolinas
Carter House, Ashland, Oregon
Christian Church, Gilroy
Choller Mansion, Virginia City, NV
Chuck's Railroad Room, Westwood
Colfax Freight Depot (Moved Twice), Colfax
Commodore Watkins House, Atherton
Coyle-Foster Barn, Shasta State Historic Park
Croll Building, Alameda
Dallam-Merritt House, San Francisco
Davis Creek Community Church, Davis Creek
Duatre's Store, Monterey
Errea House, Tehachapi
Fairwind, Eureka
First Baptist Church, Sonoma
Fort Bragg Storehouse and Commissary, Fort Bragg
Galarneaux House, Sacramento
Glass House, San Ramon
Glendale School (Moved Twice), Sparks, Nevada
Goleta Depot, Goleta
Gray's Station, Truckee
Hostess House, Palo Alto
Hodgdon Homestead Cabin, Yosemite
House at 2214 Clay Street, San Francisco
Hutton House, Saratoga
Independence Hall, Woodside
J & T Basque Restaurant, Gardnerville, NV
Jamestown Branch Jail (Moved Twice)
Jax Truckee Diner (Moved Twice), Truckee
Jorgensen Studio, Yosemite
King City Depot, King City
La Gloria Schoolhouse, King City
Lagunita Schoolhouse, Salinas
Lake Mansion (Moved Twice), Reno
Lathrop House, Redwood City
LeConte Memorial Lodge, Yosemite
Little Church on the Hill, Oakhurst
Mansion House Hotel, Watsonville
Marcus Books and Jimbo's Bop City, San Francisco
McCredie House, Central Point, Oregon
Meherin House, Pismo Beach
Mendocino Masonic Hall, Mendocino
Methodist Episcopal Church, Placerville
Migliavacca Mansion, Napa
Milton Masonic Hall, Milton
Moab Cabin, Moab, Utah
Old North San Juan School, North San Juan
Rengstorff House, Mountain View
Sylvester House , San Francisco
United Methodist Church, Nevada City
Mt. Buckingham School, Darrah
Old Log Jail (Moved Twice), Markleeville
Old Mammoth Saloon (Moved Twice), Mammoth Lakes
Old St. Mary's Church, Rocklin
Old St. Patrick's Church (Moved Twice), San Francisco
Perry's Dry Goods, Gardnerville, NV
Phelps House (Moved Twice), San Francisco
Reno Arch (Moved Five Times), Reno
Roper House, Ashland, Oregon
San Rafael Improvement Club, San Rafael
St. James Catholic Church, Georgetown
Tribune-Republic Building, San Luis Obispo
Tubbs Cordage Company, San Francisco
Tucker House, Martinez
Twenty Mile House, Cromberg
Webber House, Yountville
Wood House, Modesto
Yosemite Transportation Company
Yosemite Valley Chapel
Of the buildings and structures we have visited, the original Reno Arch holds the record for number of moves. It has been moved five times since it was built in 1926.
Jax Truckee Diner holds the distance title. The building moved from New Jersry to Pennsylvanis in 1948, then from Pennsylvania to Califonia in 1992.
Probably the most ambitious relocation occurred on July 4th 1904, when the Southern Pacific Railroad loaded most of the town of Wadsworth, Nevada, onto rail cars and transported the town thirty miles west to create a new town which became known as Sparks.