The Dale Masonic Lodge organized at Dale Town (later Prairie Bluff) in 1827. When the town declined in the 1840s, members voted to move the lodge to Camden. The Masons moved and built the impressive Greek Revival temple-style structure in 1848. George Lynch and William T. Mathews, local builders, are credited with the design and construction. The ground floor of Dale Lodge has been the scene of many historic and cultural events, including concerts, plays and the long-remembered Secession Ball in 1861. Union troops camped in this building while passing through Camden in 1865.
In 1936, the building was photographed and recorded in the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS). In 1939, it was recorded by the pioneer female photographer, Frances Benjamin Johnston, in the Carnegie Survey of the Architecture of the South (CSAS).
This historic building is located at the intersection of Broad Street and Clifton Street near downtown Camden, AL (Google Maps: 31.99343, -87.29135).
Source: Wilcox Historical Society
B&W photographs that are provided were obtained from the U. S. Library of Congress (HABS), photographer: E. W. Russell, date: June 15, 1936.