Odd Fellow Building – 1887 – Natick
In downtown Natick, there is this brick building marked “Odd Fellow Building – 1887”. This building was purposely built as the home of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, one of the most influential fraternal organizations in 19th century America.
Completed in 1887, the building was designed from the outset to serve two functions. The upper floor housed the lodge room and ceremonial hall of Takawanbait Lodge, while the lower floors were devoted to storefronts and offices that could be rented to local businesses. This was a planned investment.
In the late 1800s, the Odd Fellows were a major mutual aid institution, composed of merchants, tradesmen and civic leaders. The Odd Fellows provided sick benefits, funeral expenses and assistance during times of unemployment or hardship. Members paid regular dues over many years, building financial reserves that made ambitious projects possible.
The Takawanbait Lodge was named in honor of Daniel Takawambait, a Native Christian leader associated with Natick’s early Praying Indian community.
Read More From Nancy
Home of Calvin Ellis Stowe
This 1816 Federal-style home in South Natick was the childhood home of Calvin Ellis Stowe a biblical scholar and later the husband of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Calvin Stowe became a scholar of Hebrew and biblical literature and met Harriet Beecher at the Lane Seminary in Cincinnati. They married in 1836, […]
St. Patrick’s Church
The cornerstone of St. Patrick’s Church, laid in 1892, marks more than the construction of a building. It represents the beginning of an enduring Catholic presence in Natick. Before this time, Catholic families gathered in borrowed halls, private homes and makeshift chapels, worshipping quietly in a community still defined by its Protestant roots. By the late […]
Henry Wilson House
In Natick, the small red cobbler shop where Henry Wilson once worked is modest considering the life he would go on to lead. Before he entered the Senate or became Vice President of the United States, Wilson was a cobbler, making and repairing shoes by hand. The long hours he spent at his bench were more […]
