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The Chain Lake 64 Masonic Lodge of Fairmont is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.
The lodge was chartered on Oct. 23, 1867, and built in 1894 at its current location: 204 Downtown Plaza in Fairmont.
One of the group's members, Bob Strom, shared some history of the lodge, what the organization believes and what part it plays in society.
According to Strom, Masons, also known as Freemasons, belong to the oldest fraternal organization in the world.
"It actually goes back to the 1400s, when the Masons were actual masons," he said. "And then the formal development of the Masonic Lodge was in London in 1717. Fourteen of our United States Presidents were Masons, and there are presently over 3.5 million Masons in North America."
Strom also noted a piece of local history relating to the Masons, a trowel presented to the group when the Martin County Courthouse was built in the early 1900s.
"This was presented by Haughtaling and Coult who, as I recall, had a hardware store here way back," he said. "They presented this to the Chain Lake Lodge at the laying of the cornerstone of the Martin County Courthouse on June 11, 1906. So when the Courthouse was being built, the Masons were called upon and they were very active."
Strom said that in those early years, membership for the lodge was as high as 380 doctors, truck drivers and others from many walks of life. He said current membership is more than 100, and the group gained some members over the last year.
Strom noted that Masonry is deeply involved in charity, locally as well as nationally.
"The purpose of the Masons is to improve manhood, our dignity, and honesty, and belief in God," he said. "Every year we do a lot of scholarships, and in the past several years, 10 scholarships have been presented each year to high school graduating seniors in the Martin County area."
Strom also noted that, in 2014, the children's hospital at the University of Minnesota was renamed The Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital. This was due to the more than $125 million donated to the hospital by the Minnesota Masonic Charities.
He also noted that the North American Masons contribute more than $2 million each day to charitable causes, and the Shrine Masons, known as Shriners, operate the largest network of hospitals for burn and orthopedically impaired children at no cost to their families.
In celebration of the anniversary, the lodge will host a public open house from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. Refreshments will be served. Lodge members will be available to answer questions. Questions also can be directed to Chain Lake Lodge Masonic Lodge 64, P.O. Box 606, Fairmont, MN 56031, or people may call (507) 238-1622.