List of Masonic buildings in the United States
Alabama
Table:
Building

Image

Dates

Location

City, State

Description

1

Masonic Lodge

c.1915 built
2000 NRHP CP-listed

115-123 Main
32°56′38″N 85°57′11″W﻿ / ﻿32.943823°N 85.953053°W﻿ / 32.943823; -85.953053﻿ (Masonic Lodge (Alexander City, Alabama))

Alexander City, Alabama

Three-story two-part commercial block building in National Register-listed Alexander City Commercial Historic District.[1]

2

West End Masonic Temple

1926 built
1987 NRHP-listed

1346 Tuscaloosa Ave.
33°29′33″N 86°51′19″W﻿ / ﻿33.49250°N 86.85528°W﻿ / 33.49250; -86.85528﻿ (West End Masonic Temple)

Birmingham, Alabama

Classical Revival building which served as a Masonic Hall until 1985 when it was sold and converted to office space. The building was destroyed in a fire on New Year's Day, 1996, but, oddly remains NRHP-listed in 2009.[2][3]

3

Colored Masonic Temple

1922 built
1980 NRHP CP-listed

4th Ave. & 17th St. North33°30′55″N 86°48′44″W﻿ / ﻿33.515314°N 86.812137°W﻿ / 33.515314; -86.812137﻿ (Colored Masonic Temple)

Birmingham, Alabama

Seven-story Renaissance Revival style building "designed by black architects and built by a black-owned construction firm, it served as the principal social and cultural center for the black community during segregation and housed the state headquarters for the Masons and the Order of the Eastern Star."[4] Included in Fourth Avenue Historic District.

3.5

Woodlawn Masonic Building

1915 built
1991 NRHP CP-listed

5502 1st Avenue North33°32′24″N 86°45′11″W﻿ / ﻿33.539970°N 86.753059°W﻿ / 33.539970; -86.753059﻿ (Woodlawn Masonic Building)

Birmingham, Alabama

Three-story brown brick building with corbelled cornice, included in Woodlawn Commercial Historic District.

4

Dale Masonic Lodge

1848 built

Broad St. and Clifton St.31°59′36″N 87°17′29″W﻿ / ﻿31.993429°N 87.291374°W﻿ / 31.993429; -87.291374﻿ (Dale Masonic Lodge)

Camden, Alabama

Greek Revival in style

5

Crane Hill Masonic Lodge

1904 built
2001 NRHP-listed

14538 Cty. Rd. 222
34°5′49″N 87°2′38″W﻿ / ﻿34.09694°N 87.04389°W﻿ / 34.09694; -87.04389﻿ (Crane Hill Masonic Lodge)

Crane Hill, Alabama

Historically used as a meeting hall, as a school, as a multiple dwelling, and as a department store.[3][5]

6

Tuckabatcha Masonic Lodge

Crawford, Russell County, Alabama

Surveyed by Historic American Buildings Survey

7

Masonic Temple (Eufaula, Alabama)

Eufaula, Alabama

7.5

Masonic Temple (Foley, Alabama)

c.1925 built
2005 CP NRHP-listed

200 North Alston Street
30°24′28″N 87°41′05″W﻿ / ﻿30.407703°N 87.684707°W﻿ / 30.407703; -87.684707﻿ (Masonic Temple (Foley, Alabama))

Foley, Alabama

Mission Revival style; designed by Mobile architect George B. Rogers; included in Foley Downtown Historic District[6]

8

Helion Lodge

1911 built

34°43′49″N 86°34′53″W﻿ / ﻿34.73028°N 86.58139°W﻿ / 34.73028; -86.58139﻿ (Helion Lodge)

Huntsville, Alabama

Home of the oldest Freemasons' lodge in Alabama, which erected this building to replace a previous building.[7]

9

Scottish Rite Temple

1922 built
1984 NRHP-listed

351 St. Francis Street
30°41′28.51″N 88°2′46.07″W﻿ / ﻿30.6912528°N 88.0461306°W﻿ / 30.6912528; -88.0461306﻿ (Scottish Rite Temple (Mobile, Alabama))

Mobile, Alabama

Egyptian Revival building known previously as Scottish Rite Temple, this building housed a Scottish Rite chapter. It has been sold and converted into a banqueting venue known as "The Temple Downtown.[8]

10

Perdue Hill Masonic Hall

Purdue Hill, Alabama

LaFayette visited here.

11

Central Masonic Institute

1847 built
1975 NRHP-listed

109 Union St.
32°24′18″N 87°1′33″W﻿ / ﻿32.40500°N 87.02583°W﻿ / 32.40500; -87.02583﻿ (Joseph T. Smitherman Historic Building)

Selma, Alabama

Built in Greek Revival style in 1847 as the Central Masonic Institute, a school for orphans and the children of indigent Masons. Converted to many other uses during its history; now a museum.[3][9]

12

St. Stephens Masonic Lodge, aka "Old Washington County Courthouse"

1853-54 built
1997 NRHP-listed

31°32′24″N 88°3′15″W﻿ / ﻿31.54000°N 88.05417°W﻿ / 31.54000; -88.05417﻿ (St. Stephens Masonic Lodge)

St. Stephens, Alabama

Greek Revival; main original function was as Washington County Courthouse

Using the table together with the passages below.

State the answer to the question: What is the name of the county in which the city whose Masonic Temple was photographed by Frances Benjamin John in 1939 is a county seat ? Return your answer as JSON: {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Avoid adding external knowledge.

Alexander City Commercial Historic District , in Alexander City , Alabama , is a historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 . The listing includes 32 contributing buildings and a contributing site on 8 acres ( 3.2 ha ) . The district includes portions of Broad , Main , Green , Alabama , and Jefferson Sts . and it includes Courthouse Square . It includes 17 non-contributing buildings . It includes Commercial block architecture . Selected buildings included are :
Alexander City , known to locals as Alex City , is a city in Tallapoosa County , Alabama , United States , with a population of some 14,875 . It has been the largest community in Tallapoosa County since 1910 . It is known for Lake Martin with its 750 miles ( 1,210 km ) of wooded shoreline and 44,000 acres ( 18,000 ha ) of water . Lake Martin stands on the Tallapoosa River and offers boating , swimming , fishing , golfing , and camping . Many neighborhoods and luxury homes are located on the lake . The city 's economy was traditionally based on the textile industry , but in recent times its economic base has become more diversified as textile jobs have gone to India .
Alexander City Commercial Historic District , in Alexander City , Alabama , is a historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 . The listing includes 32 contributing buildings and a contributing site on 8 acres ( 3.2 ha ) . The district includes portions of Broad , Main , Green , Alabama , and Jefferson Sts . and it includes Courthouse Square . It includes 17 non-contributing buildings . It includes Commercial block architecture . Selected buildings included are :
The West End Masonic Temple is a Masonic building in Birmingham , Alabama . It was constructed in 1926 . The temple served the masonic community until 1985 , when it was sold and converted to office space . The building was destroyed in a fire on New Years Day , 1996 . The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 , and in 2009 , despite being gone for many years , was still listed .
Birmingham ( /ˈbɜːrmɪŋhæm/ BUR-ming-ham ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama . With an estimated 2018 population of 209,880 , it is the most populous city in Alabama . Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County , Alabama 's most populous and fifth largest county . As of 2018 , the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 1,151,801 , making it the most populous in Alabama and 49th-most populous in the United States . Birmingham serves as an important regional hub and is associated with the Deep South , Piedmont , and Appalachian regions of the nation . Birmingham was founded in 1871 , during the post-Civil War Reconstruction era , through the merger of three farm towns , most notably Elyton . The new city was named for Birmingham , England , the United Kingdom 's second largest city and then a major industrial city . The Alabama city annexed its smaller neighbors as it developed into a major industrial center based on mining , the iron and steel industry , and rail transport . Most of the original settlers were of English ancestry . The city was developed as a place where low paid , non-unionized immigrants ( mainly Irish and Italian ) , along with African-Americans from rural Alabama , who worked in the city 's steel mills and blast furnaces and gave it a competitive advantage over unionized industrial cities of the Midwest and Northeast . :14
Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France . In its purest form , it is a style principally derived from the architecture of classical antiquity , the Vitruvian principles , and the work of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio . The development of archaeology was crucial in the emergence of Neoclassical architecture . Excavation sites like those in Pompeii and Herculaneum allowed architects to make in depth interpretations of Classical architecture and synthesize their own unique style . In form , neoclassical architecture emphasizes the wall rather than chiaroscuro and maintains separate identities to each of its parts . The style is manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament , and in its architectural formulae as an outgrowth of some classicising features of the Late Baroque architectural tradition . Therefore , the style defined by symmetry , simple geometry , and social demands instead of ornament . Neoclassical architecture is still designed today , but may be labelled New Classical Architecture for contemporary buildings . In Central and Eastern Europe , the style is usually referred to as Classicism , while the newer revival styles of the 19th century until today are called neoclassical .
The Fourth Avenue Historic District in Birmingham , Alabama was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 . The listing included 17 contributing buildings on 4.2 acres ( 1.7 ha ) . It includes the 1600-1800 blocks of 4th Ave. , N. and part of the 300 blocks of 17th and 18th Sts. , N .
Renaissance Revival architecture ( sometimes referred to as Neo-Renaissance ) is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of classicizing Italian modes . Under the broad designation Renaissance architecture nineteenth-century architects and critics went beyond the architectural style which began in Florence and central Italy in the early 15th century as an expression of Renaissance humanism ; they also included styles we would identify as Mannerist or Baroque . Self-applied style designations were rife in the mid- and later nineteenth century : Neo-Renaissance might be applied by contemporaries to structures that others called Italianate , or when many French Baroque features are present ( Second Empire ) . The divergent forms of Renaissance architecture in different parts of Europe , particularly in France and Italy , has added to the difficulty of defining and recognizing Neo-Renaissance architecture . A comparison between the breadth of its source material , such as the English Wollaton Hall , Italian Palazzo Pitti , the French Château de Chambord , and the Russian Palace of Facets - all deemed Renaissance - illustrates the variety of appearances the same architectural label can take .
The Fourth Avenue Historic District in Birmingham , Alabama was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 . The listing included 17 contributing buildings on 4.2 acres ( 1.7 ha ) . It includes the 1600-1800 blocks of 4th Ave. , N. and part of the 300 blocks of 17th and 18th Sts. , N .
The Woodlawn Commercial Historic District , in Birmingham , Alabama , was listed on the National Register of Historic Districts in 1991 . It is a 6 acres ( 2.4 ha ) district which included 12 contributing buildings and four non-contributing buildings in an area around the junction of 1st Avenue North and 55th Place in Birmingham , at the center of the community of Woodlawn , Alabama , which for a time was a separate city before being absorbed into Birmingham . A much larger portion of the community , including all of this Commercial historic district and residential areas as well , was later listed on the National Register as Woodlawn Historic District . The Woodlawn Commercial Historic District is roughly L-shaped along 1st Avenue North , running northeast to southwest , and along perpendicular 55th Place . All buildings were constructed between 1908 and 1935 . It was noted that the district contains a wide range of building types associated with a small , early twentieth-century suburban community ; such as a church and church-related school ( inventory # 2 , 1 ) , a city hall ( inventory # 12 ) , a fraternal lodge ( inventory # 3 ) , and a variety of small commercial and professional buildings ( inv . # 9-11,13-18 ) . Most all of the buildings located within the district are constructed in brick . One building has been covered in smooth stucco ( inventory # 11 ) . Stone and terra cotta is used throughout the district as decorative elements ( inventory # 2 , 3 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 18 ) . Many of the buildings are highlighted by decorative brick corbelled cornices ( inventory # 3 , 9 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ) . The buildings within the district range in height from one , two , and three stories .
In architecture , a corbel is a structural piece of stone , wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight , a type of bracket . A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall , whereas a console is a piece applied to the structure . A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a tassel or a bragger in England .
In architecture , a cornice ( from the Italian cornice meaning ledge ) is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns a building or furniture element - the cornice over a door or window , for instance , or the cornice around the top edge of a pedestal or along the top of an interior wall . A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown . A projecting cornice on a building has the function of throwing rainwater free of the building 's walls . In residential building practice , this function is handled by projecting gable ends , roof eaves , and gutters . However , house eaves may also be called cornices if they are finished with decorative molding . In this sense , while most cornices are also eaves ( in that they overhang the sides of the building ) , not all eaves are usually considered cornices - eaves are primarily functional and not necessarily decorative , and a cornice has a decorative aspect to it . The projecting cornice of a building may appear to be heavy and hence in danger of falling , particularly on commercial buildings , but often it may be very light , made of pressed metal .
The Woodlawn Commercial Historic District , in Birmingham , Alabama , was listed on the National Register of Historic Districts in 1991 . It is a 6 acres ( 2.4 ha ) district which included 12 contributing buildings and four non-contributing buildings in an area around the junction of 1st Avenue North and 55th Place in Birmingham , at the center of the community of Woodlawn , Alabama , which for a time was a separate city before being absorbed into Birmingham . A much larger portion of the community , including all of this Commercial historic district and residential areas as well , was later listed on the National Register as Woodlawn Historic District . The Woodlawn Commercial Historic District is roughly L-shaped along 1st Avenue North , running northeast to southwest , and along perpendicular 55th Place . All buildings were constructed between 1908 and 1935 . It was noted that the district contains a wide range of building types associated with a small , early twentieth-century suburban community ; such as a church and church-related school ( inventory # 2 , 1 ) , a city hall ( inventory # 12 ) , a fraternal lodge ( inventory # 3 ) , and a variety of small commercial and professional buildings ( inv . # 9-11,13-18 ) . Most all of the buildings located within the district are constructed in brick . One building has been covered in smooth stucco ( inventory # 11 ) . Stone and terra cotta is used throughout the district as decorative elements ( inventory # 2 , 3 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 18 ) . Many of the buildings are highlighted by decorative brick corbelled cornices ( inventory # 3 , 9 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ) . The buildings within the district range in height from one , two , and three stories .
The Dale Masonic Lodge , at the intersection of Broad St. and Clifton St. in Camden , Alabama , was built around 1848 . The lodge group was organized in 1827 in Dale Town , which later became Prairie Bluff , Alabama , and the group voted to move to Camden in the 1840s . In 1865 , Union troops camped in the building . It was photographed by E.W . Russell and documented in the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1936 , and was photographed by Frances Benjamin Johnston in the Carnegie Survey of the Architecture of the South ( CSAS ) in 1939 .
Camden is a city in and the county seat of Wilcox County , Alabama , United States . The population was 2,020 at the 2010 census , down from 2,257 in 2000 , at which time it was a town .
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries , predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States . It revived the style of ancient Greek architecture , in particular the Greek temple , with varying degrees of thoroughness and consistency . A product of Hellenism , it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture , which had for long mainly drawn from Roman architecture . The term was first used by Charles Robert Cockerell in a lecture he gave as Professor of Architecture to the Royal Academy of Arts , London in 1842 . With a newfound access to Greece , or initially the books produced by the few who had actually been able to visit the sites , archaeologist-architects of the period studied the Doric and Ionic orders . In each country it touched , the style was looked on as the expression of local nationalism and civic virtue , and freedom from the lax detail and frivolity that was thought to characterize the architecture of France and Italy , two countries where the style never really took hold . This was especially the case in Britain , Germany and the United States , where the idiom was regarded as being free from ecclesiastical and aristocratic associations . The taste for all things Greek in furniture and interior design , sometimes called Neo-Grec , was at its peak by the beginning of the 19th century , when the designs of Thomas Hope had influenced a number of decorative styles known variously as Neoclassical , Empire , Russian Empire , and Regency architecture in Britain . Greek Revival architecture took a different course in a number of countries , lasting until the Civil War in America ( 1860s ) and even later in Scotland .
The Crane Hill Masonic Lodge is a historical Masonic building in Crane Hill , Alabama . Built in 1904 , it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Built as a meeting hall for Crane Hill Masonic Lodge # 554 , it has also housed a school . The building is a free standing gable front structure . It was historically used as a meeting hall , as a school , as a multiple dwelling , and as a department store . The building was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in February 1999 . It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 . It is currently used as a Masonic hall .
Crane Hill is an unincorporated community in Cullman County , Alabama , United States , located in the southwestern portion of the county . The community of Crane Hill can trace its history back to 1806 , when the first settlers recorded their land titles . This area is named after the Sandhill Crane who fished the streams and roosted on a hill located just north of Mt . Zion Road and part of the Kirby Lay property . It was from this large hill of roosting cranes that Crane Hill took its name .
Crawford is an unincorporated community in Russell County , Alabama , United States . Crawford is located at the junction of U.S. Route 80 and Alabama State Route 169 , 6.5 miles ( 10.5 km ) west of Ladonia . It was the second county seat of Russell County from 1839-1868 before it removed to Seale .
Heritage Documentation Programs ( HDP ) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service ( NPS ) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey ( HABS ) , Historic American Engineering Record ( HAER ) , and Historic American Landscapes Survey ( HALS ) . These programs were established to document historic places in the United States . Records consist of measured drawings , archival photographs , and written reports , and are archived in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress .
Eufaula is the largest city in Barbour County , Alabama , United States . As of the 2010 census the city 's population was 13,137 .
The Foley Downtown Historic District , in Foley , Alabama , is a historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 . The district was amended by a boundary decrease listing in 2012 , and a boundary increase in 2019 . Boundaries originally encompassed parts of Alston , N. and S. McKenzie , U.S. Route 98 , E. and W. Laurel , Myrtle , Rose , and W. Orange until a boundary decrease of June 4 , 2012 The original listing included 29 contributing buildings and one contributing site on 230.6 acres ( 93.3 ha ) . It included :
Foley is a city in Baldwin County , Alabama , United States . The 2010 census lists the population of the city as 14,618 . Foley is a principal city of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley Micropolitan Statistical Area , which includes all of Baldwin County .
The Mission Revival Style was an architectural movement that began in the late 19th century for a colonial style 's revivalism and reinterpretation , which drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century Spanish missions in California . It is sometimes termed California Mission Revival , particularly when used elsewhere , such as in New Mexico where historically there were other Spanish missions that were not the same architecturally . The Mission Revival movement enjoyed its greatest popularity between 1890 and 1915 , in numerous residential , commercial , and institutional structures - particularly schools and railroad depots - which used this easily recognizable architectural style .
George Bigelow Rogers ( 1870-1945 ) was an American architect , best known for the wide variety of buildings that he designed in Mobile , Alabama , including mansions in historic European styles and other private residences , churches and public buildings , and the first 11-story skyscraper in Mobile and the Southeast United States . Many of his structures have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places .
The Foley Downtown Historic District , in Foley , Alabama , is a historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 . The district was amended by a boundary decrease listing in 2012 , and a boundary increase in 2019 . Boundaries originally encompassed parts of Alston , N. and S. McKenzie , U.S. Route 98 , E. and W. Laurel , Myrtle , Rose , and W. Orange until a boundary decrease of June 4 , 2012 The original listing included 29 contributing buildings and one contributing site on 230.6 acres ( 93.3 ha ) . It included :
Helion Lodge # 1 is a Masonic lodge in Huntsville , Alabama . It is the oldest lodge of Freemasons in the state . According to Grand Historian Joseph Abram Jackson 's Masonry in Alabama , it is the birthplace of Freemasonry in Alabama . Helion Lodge is also the common name for the building ( actually named Eunomia Hall for Eunomia Chapter # 5 Royal Arch Masons who financed its construction ) , built in 1911 , where the lodge meets .
Huntsville is a city in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama . It is the county seat of Madison County but extends west into neighboring Limestone County and south into Morgan County . It was founded in 1805 and became an incorporated town in 1811 . The city grew across nearby hills north of the Tennessee River , adding textile mills , then munitions factories , NASA 's Marshall Space Flight Center and the United States Army Aviation and Missile Command nearby at the Redstone Arsenal . The National Trust for Historic Preservation named Huntsville to its America 's Dozen Distinctive Destinations for 2010 list . The city 's population was 180,105 in 2010 , making it Alabama 's fourth-largest city . Huntsville is the largest city in the five-county Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville , AL Combined Statistical Area . The Huntsville metropolitan area 's population was 417,593 in 2010 , making it the second most populous metropolitan area in the state . The Huntsville metro 's population reached 462,693 by 2018 .
Scottish Rite Temple , also known as The Temple Downtown , is a historic former masonic building in Mobile , Alabama , United States . It was built to serve as the meeting place for the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry . The building was designed by George Bigelow Rogers , a local Mobile architect who was responsible for designing many of the city 's buildings during this period . The cornerstone was laid on November 30 , 1921 , with the building completed in 1922 . It is the only intact example of the Egyptian Revival style in Mobile . It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 5 , 1984 . It was sold in 1996 to a private citizen and reopened as a banqueting venue .
Mobile ( /moʊˈbiːl/ moh-BEEL , French : [ mɔbil ] ( listen ) ) is the county seat of Mobile County , Alabama , United States . The population within the city limits was 195,111 as of the 2010 United States Census , making it the third most populous city in Alabama , the most populous in Mobile County , and the largest municipality on the Gulf Coast between New Orleans , Louisiana , and St. Petersburg , Florida . Alabama 's only saltwater port , Mobile is located on the Mobile River at the head of the Mobile Bay and the north-central Gulf Coast . The Port of Mobile has always played a key role in the economic health of the city , beginning with the settlement as an important trading center between the French colonists and Native Americans , down to its current role as the 12th-largest port in the United States . Mobile is the principal municipality of the Mobile metropolitan area . This region of 412,992 residents is composed solely of Mobile County ; it is the third-largest metropolitan statistical area in the state . Mobile is the largest city in the Mobile-Daphne−Fairhope CSA , with a total population of 604,726 , the second largest in the state . As of 2011 [ update ] , the population within a 60-mile ( 100 km ) radius of Mobile is 1,262,907 . Mobile was founded in 1702 by the French as the first capital of Louisiana . During its first 100 years , Mobile was a colony of France , then Britain , and lastly Spain . Mobile became a part of the United States in 1813 , with the annexation by President James Madison of West Florida from Spain . The city surrendered to Federal forces on April 12 , 1865 , after Union victories at two forts protecting the city .
Egyptian revival is an architectural style that uses the motifs and imagery of ancient Egypt . It is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient Egyptian monuments generated by Napoleon 's conquest of Egypt and Admiral Nelson 's defeat of the French Navy at the Battle of the Nile in 1798 . The size and monumentality of the façades 'discovered ' during his adventure cement the hold of Egyptian aesthetics on the Parisian elite . Napoleon took a scientific expedition with him to Egypt . Publication of the expedition 's work , the Description de l'Égypte , began in 1809 and was published as a series through 1826 . However , works of art and architecture ( such as funerary monuments ) in the Egyptian style had been made or built occasionally on the European continent and the British Isles since the time of the Renaissance .
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry ( the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States often omits the and , while the English Constitution in the United Kingdom omits the Scottish ) , commonly known as simply the Scottish Rite ( or , in England and Australia , as the Rose Croix although this is only one of its degrees ) , is one of several Rites of Freemasonry . A Rite is a progressive series of degrees conferred by various Masonic organizations or bodies , each of which operates under the control of its own central authority . In the Scottish Rite the central authority is called a Supreme Council . The Scottish Rite is one of the appendant bodies of Freemasonry that a Master Mason may join for further exposure to the principles of Freemasonry . It is also concordant , in that some of its degrees relate to the degrees of Symbolic ( Craft ) Freemasonry . In England and some other countries , while the Scottish Rite is not accorded official recognition by the Grand Lodge , only a recognised Freemason may join and there is no prohibition against his doing so . In the United States , however , the Scottish Rite is officially recognized by Grand Lodges as an extension of the degrees of Freemasonry . The Scottish Rite builds upon the ethical teachings and philosophy offered in the Craft ( or Blue ) Lodge , through dramatic presentation of the individual degrees .
The Joseph T. Smitherman Historic Building , also known by a variety of other names throughout its history , is a historic Greek Revival building in Selma , Alabama . Completed in 1847 , it has served many functions in the more than 160 years of its existence . The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 20 , 1975 , due to its architectural and historical significance . It currently houses the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum , a museum depicting Selma 's history .
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County , in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west . Located on the banks of the Alabama River , the city has a population of 20,756 as of the 2010 census . About 80% of the population is African-American . Selma was a trading center and market town during the antebellum years of King Cotton in the South . It was also an important armaments-manufacturing and iron shipbuilding center for the Confederacy during the Civil War , surrounded by miles of earthen fortifications . The Confederate forces were defeated during the Battle of Selma . The city is best known for the 1960s Selma voting-rights movement and the Selma-to-Montgomery marches , beginning with Bloody Sunday in March 1965 and ending with 25,000 people entering Montgomery at the end of the last march to press for voting rights . This activism generated national attention for social justice and that summer , the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed by Congress to authorize federal oversight and enforcement of constitutional rights of all citizens .
An orphan ( from the Greek : ορφανός , romanized : orphanós ) is someone whose parents have died , are unknown , or have permanently abandoned them . In common usage , only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan . When referring to animals , only the mother 's condition is usually relevant ( i.e . if the female parent has gone , the offspring is an orphan , regardless of the father 's condition ) .
A museum ( /mjuːˈziːəm/ mew-ZEE-əm ; plural museums or , rarely , musea ) is an institution that cares for ( conserves ) a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic , cultural , historical , or scientific importance . Many public museums make these items available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary . The largest museums are located in major cities throughout the world , while thousands of local museums exist in smaller cities , towns , and rural areas . Museums have varying aims , ranging from serving researchers and specialists to serving the general public . The goal of serving researchers is increasingly shifting to serving the general public . There are many types of museums , including art museums , natural history museums , science museums , war museums , and children 's museums . Amongst the world 's largest and most visited museums are the Louvre in Paris , the National Museum of China in Beijing , the Smithsonian Institution in Washington , D.C. , the British Museum and National Gallery in London , the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and Vatican Museums in Vatican City . According to the International Council of Museums , there are more than 55,000 museums in 202 countries .
The St. Stephens Courthouse , listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Washington County Courthouse and also known as the St. Stephens Masonic Lodge , is a historic former courthouse building in St. Stephens , Alabama . The Alabama Legislature authorized construction of the building in 1853 to serve as headquarters for the government of Washington County . The building was completed in 1854 and served as the county courthouse until 1907 , when the county seat was moved to Chatom . It served a variety of purposes after that , until being restored in 2000 by the St. Stephens Historical Commission for use as a visitor center and local history museum .
St. Stephens is an unincorporated census-designated place in Washington County , Alabama , United States . Its population was 580 . Located near the Tombigbee River in the southwestern part of the state and 67 miles north of Mobile , it is composed of two distinct sites : Old St. Stephens and New St. Stephens . The Old St. Stephens site lies directly on the river and is no longer inhabited . It was the territorial capital of the Alabama Territory . Now encompassed by the Old St. Stephens Historical Park , it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Changes in the territorial capital and transportation resulted in the Old St. Stephens site being bypassed by development . New St. Stephens developed two miles inland around a railway station , but adjacent to the old site . It is the location of the post office , Baptist and Methodist churches , and residences . It has one building listed on the National Register and another on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage .