In the early 19th century, the town of Cadiz, Kentucky (I pronounce it “Kay-deeez”, but I’m not from there) won a contested election among neighboring communities to become the seat of government for Trigg County. Prior to the Civil War, the town prospered due to a fortuitous location on two turnpikes and close proximity to waterways, including the Little River. In 1854, a handsome, front gable, two-story brick building was constructed to serve as home to both the congregation of the Christian Church and the members of the local Masonic Lodge.
Façade of the Masonic Lodge, circa 2018.
Location of Cadiz, which is in Western Kentucky, on the Tennessee line.
The Lodge was chartered in 1841 and until it joined forces with the Christian Church, met at the houses of various members. When this sturdy building on a stone foundation was completed, the church met on the first floor, and the Lodge utilized the second floor.
Circa 1979 image of the Lodge. Photograph from the NRHP files.
The building has little ornamentation on the facade, which is fine – it lets this vernacular expression of the Greek Revival style speak for itself. Pilasters divided the facade into three bays, although only the central bay is pierced by any openings. On the ground floor, wooden double doors, topped with a seven light transom and a simple, stone, pedimented lintel, provide access to the interior. A single paired window, with an identical pedimented lintel, lights the upper story on the second floor. Four windows are located on the west elevation. Delicate brackets, paired and triplicate, line the cornice on the facade.
Façade and side elevation, circa 2018.
When this building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, it was used as both a Masonic Lodge and the local senior citizen’s center.* The distinctive Masonic sign seen in the 1979 photograph was gone when I went through Cadiz, and I don’t know how the building is used today. As always, I hope that it continues to be occupied and used by the community – it’s a distinctive and important building in the town.
*The local Eastern Star chapter met in the building as well. The Order of the Eastern Star is open to men and women.
