SILVERTON, COLORADO
San Juan Lodge No. 33 received its charter September 18, 1877. First Lodge officers were: John Rogers, W.M.; Edmund T. Sweet, S.W.; Don M. Dana, J.W.
The location of the first Lodge Room was on the second floor of a two story frame building on the site now occupied by the brick stable of Elton McJunkin on Green or Main Street. The lower floor was occupied by a saloon. The Lodge Room was suitably furnished and the membership multiplied rapidly. On the night of December 18, 1892, a bitterly cold night, a fire started in the saloon and in a few moments enveloped the entire building, burning it completely to the ground. The original charter of the Lodge was saved by strenuous and daring effort; all else, books, records and furniture, was entirely destroyed.
The second location of the Lodge was on the present site, corner of West 13th Street and Reese Street. It was a rather small two story frame residence building where the local newspaper, The Silverton Miner, was published on the ground floor and a family resided upstairs. This building was acquired from a Building and Loan Association on account of delinquent payments. and remodeled-the upstairs for a lodge room and the lower floor for offices. After a few years, the membership constantly increasing, the Lodge room was found inadequate to accommodate the work being performed. .Members were solicited for donations to enlarge the building and with successful results. The present building now stands as one of the outstanding structures in the city, the lower floor offering rental apartments as a source of revenue. The Lodge room is also used by the Eastern Star, Silverton Chapter No. 54 Royal Arch Masons and Rainbow Girls Assembly No. 75, U. D.
Members, 1960-73.
