Morning Star Lodge #20 was instituted February 9, 1854. The Lodge met for several years on the second floor of a 48 x 24 foot hillside building near here. In 1859, the members erected a building on this site. On May 15th, 1910, a fire started in the woodshed behind the County Court House and both buildings were destroyed.
The members rebuilt this current edifice which was completed December 6th, 1911. That evening, the members hosted a Grand Ball on the newly installed spring floor, the only one of its kind in the county, and one of only a few left in the United States today.
Placerville Parlor #9, Native Sons of the Golden West, met in the original building for many years before moving to the Masonic Building down the street after the fire of 1910. Many of the cities early fraternal groups also met in this building, including the United Ancient Order of Druids, Improved Order of Redman, and the Independent Order of Foresters.
This Building is dedicated to the memory of those early pioneer Odd Fellows of El Dorado County, who indeed lived and preserved the "Spirit of 49" from those earliest mining days.
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