To find Wheeling Lodge #9:

We are located at the corner of 12th & Chapline St. - Directly above Elle & Jack's Restaurant.

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History

Odd Fellowship in Wheeling began in 1834 when the Grand Lodge of the United States established Virginius Lodge #3 in Wheeling, Virginia. When the Grand Lodge of Virginia was established on May 17, 1837, Virginius Lodge #3 fell under its jurisdiction. Over the next ten years, the city of Wheeling, Virginia gained two more lodges. In 1847, the need for a fourth Lodge in Wheeling was realized. At the time, each Lodge could only sustain a limited number of members so as not to bankrupt itself in the benefits that were to be paid out. On December 11, 1847, the Grand Lodge of Virginia granted a charter to Wheeling Lodge #59. On December 5, 1865, following the end of the United States’ Civil War, the Sovereign Grand Lodge held a special session in Wheeling, now part of the State of West Virginia, and granted a charter to the new Grand Lodge of West Virginia. At this time, all active lodges in the newly formed jurisdiction were renumbered and rechartered. Due to this change, Virginius Lodge #3 was rechartered as Virginius Lodge #2 and Wheeling Lodge #59 was rechartered as Wheeling Lodge #9, which remains our name and number to this day.

While most of the records of the earliest days of the Lodge have been lost due to a fire, we do know that meetings for the Lodge from 1859 to 1925 were held in the three-story Odd Fellows Building located at the southwest corner of what were then known as Fourth and Monroe Streets, now Chapline and 12th Streets. From 1863 to 1870, this building served as temporary quarters for Linsly Military Institute cadets while their building was serving as the capitol building of the new State of West Virginia. In 1893, a fourth story was added to the Odd Fellows Building.

Wheeling Lodge #9 continued to prosper, and many prominent Wheeling residents became members of the Lodge, including Wheeling mayor Jeremiah A. Miller, who additionally served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of West Virginia in 1877. In 1886, Lodge member William Ellingham also served as Grand Master. Several Lodges consolidated with Wheeling #9 during these years, including Centennial #81 in 1880, Virginius #2 and Franklin #3 in 1912, and Excelsior #40 in 1925.

Around October 1925, Wheeling Lodge #9 moved its location to the former Reymann House at the corner of what is now 15th and Eoff Streets and remained there until July 1937, when it moved to the former location of Concord Lodge #19 at the Northwest corner of 38th and Jacob Streets upon the consolidation of Concord #19 with Wheeling #9. Three months later, in October 1937, Wheeling Lodge #9 returned to its original location at the corners of 12th and Chapline Streets.

One of the best, most reliable ways for a Lodge to earn income is to have property that it can rent to businesses or people. Wheeling Lodge #9 had this arrangement, and still does, through the Odd Fellows Hall Association. The Lodge formed the Odd Fellows Hall Association in 1856 to oversee the construction, rental, and ongoing maintenance of the original Odd Fellows building, and the Association continues to this day performing the same functions for the current building.

The original Odd Fellows Building was constructed by the Hall Association beginning in 1857, completed in 1859, at an estimated cost of $30,000 to $40,000, with the exact cost unknown due to the loss of records. The street level floor was rented to Henderson’s Restaurant in the corner location, Fahey’s Florist in the next space, and the 12th Street News Stand in the final space. The proprietor of Henderson’s Restaurant was Cambell Henderson, who was a member of Wheeling Lodge #9 at the time.

On Saturday, March 19, 1950 a bingo game was in progress on the second floor of the building, directly over Henderson’s Restaurant, when fire broke out on one of the upper floors around 10:00 PM. It is not known exactly where the fire started. Seventy women escaped by way of a fire escape on the 12th Street side of the building that had just seen replacement completed the previous year. The fire completely destroyed the three upper floors, leaving only the brick walls standing. The businesses on the first floor were destroyed by flooding from the water used to extinguish the fire. The building was not salvageable and needed to be demolished. Kraus Delicatessen, which occupied part of the 1-½ story structure adjoining the Odd Fellows Building, received some water damage, and Gallaher’s Candy Store, which shared the building with the Delicatessen, was not damaged.

In the aftermath of the fire, the Lodge made arrangements with the Moose to hold meetings at their hall at 1208 Chapline Street, where Wheeling Lodge #9 met for the first time at the next regular meeting night after the fire–Thursday, March 24, 1950. It was almost six years before the Lodge could move back to its location at the corner of 12th and Chapline Streets–the first meeting in the new Hall was held in January 1956. The Recreation Room, where many of the Lodge’s special activities are held, was not completed for a further eight years. This new building again included spaces for rental to continue receiving revenue needed to operate and maintain the building.

Unfortunately, in the years following the fire, Wheeling Lodge #9 began suffering a period of years of membership loss. In 1970, a Lodge bowling team was instituted, and coupled with family parties and an annual Christmas party, the Lodge began to recover membership. In 1975, the Lodge purchased a player piano, making Lodge meetings more enjoyable. In later years, the Lodge upgraded from the player piano to a cassette tape player and later to a compact disc (CD) player. The odes played by the cassette and CD players were recorded in a nearby church and these recordings remain in use in the Lodge today.

The Lodge instituted a website and a committee to oversee it in order to share news and pictures of the Lodge’s activities. In 2018, a member of the Lodge was able to secure the donation of several computers from an employer, which the Website Committee has used to enhance the weekly meetings and special events through the use of slide shows, music recordings converted from the previous tape and CD recordings, and videos.

Also in 2018, Lodge members expressed a desire to have a Lodge Family Picnic at Oglebay Park. The members voted to hold the picnic the first year to great success. It has since become an annual staple for members and families, and has become many members’ favorite Lodge activity. The Picnic Committee has become one of the Lodge’s standing committees and spends several months planning for and arranging the event. Lodge members occasionally enjoy family outings to Wheeling Nailers hockey games and Washington Wild Things baseball games, as well.

Community involvement has been and continues to be a major factor in the Lodge’s continued success. When the Independent Order of Odd Fellows West Virginia State parade float was not available to the Lodge when needed, the Lodge was motivated to make its own float. The float is updated each year for use in the Barnesville Pumpkin Fest and Oglebayfest parades, and the Lodge entered the float in the Wheeling 250 parade celebrating Wheeling’s 250th anniversary.

The Lodge participates in the Youth Services Systems Sleep Out to help raise awareness for issues faced by at-risk and homeless teenagers, and provides a water station on Chapline Street for the annual marathons and similar events that pass by. Wheeling Lodge #9 was a strong presence on the Easter Seals Telethon on our local CBS affiliate WTRF channel 7 until 2019, the last year the Telethon was held locally. The Lodge also holds annual fundraiser dinners for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, who fund research and other programs to help those who have cystic fibrosis, and Camp Kno-Koma, a summer camp for diabetic children. The Lodge also participates in the Great Strides Walk for Cystic Fibrosis when it is held in Wheeling.

There have been a total of nine Odd Fellows Lodges in Wheeling, and over the years there have been numerous Lodge consolidations and charter lifts, leaving Wheeling Lodge #9 as the only Odd Fellows lodge in Ohio County, West Virginia, and with the consolidation of Cove Valley #380, no remaining Lodges in Hancock County.

Seen below is a scan of a section of the Wheeling News Register showing a picture of the original Odd Fellows Hall and the current building some years ago.

Lodge Consolidations and Closures

Consolidations with Wheeling #9

Eureka #48 consolidated with Wheeling #9, date unknown

Centennial #81 consolidated with Wheeling #9, 1880 (exact date unknown)

Virginius #2 consolidated with Wheeling #9, January 1, 1912

Franklin #3 consolidated with Wheeling #9, January 1, 1912

Excelsior #40 consolidated with Wheeling #9, 1925 (exact date unknown)

Concord #19 consolidated with Wheeling #9, July 2, 1937

Lincoln #49 consolidated with Wheeling #9, September 25, 1980

Triadelphia #94 consolidated with Wheeling #9, June 8, 2006

Cove Valley #380 consolidated with Wheeling #9, March 24, 2016

Consolidations Prior to Consolidations with Wheeling #9

Panola #12 consolidated with Franklin #3, date unknown

Desoto #289 consolidated with Lincoln #49, 1914 (exact date unknown)

Hatton #96 consolidated with Lincoln #49, April 10, 1961

Charter Members of Wheeling #9

James Hollingsworth

William P. Scharp

James A. McCulley

B. HG. Rennard

William Ellingham

Notable Wheeling Odd Fellows

Grand Lodge of West Virginia Sessions held in Wheeling

Convention Meeting, July 21, 1863

Grand Lodge Organization and Charter Granted, December 5, 1865

First Annual Session, April 24, 1866

Eighth Annual Session, April 22-24, 1873

Ninth Annual Session, October 27-29, 1874

14th Annual Session, October 28-30, 1879

18th Annual Session, October 23-25, 1883

19th Annual Session, October 28-30, 1884

22nd Annual Session, October 25-27, 1887

24th Annual Session, November 19-21, 1889

28th Annual Session, November 18-20, 1903

39th Annual Session, November 16-18, 1904

44th Annual Session, October 17-19, 1909

54th Annual Session, October 14-16, 1919

109th Annual Session, October 10-12, 1974

127th Annual Session, October 9-11, 1992