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Churches and lodges

Eagle Lodge

In Hillsborough. 15 dated events, 1791–2007.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange and OpenStreetMap; town and community pins mark the middle of their mapped buildings.

People in its history

Indexed works

Books, articles, records and pictures in the index about Eagle Lodge, found by its names in titles, catalog subjects and the index’s descriptions, and read one by one. Those held at OCPL come first.

Held at OCPL

The history of Eagle Lodge No. 19, A.F. & A.M

R.B. Studebaker, J. Frank Ray. · 1993

History of Eagle Lodge No. 19 of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons in Hillsborough, by R. B. Studebaker and J. Frank Ray. Three volumes bound as one carry the lodge's story from 1791 to 2022; the first volume originally appeared in 1937. Illustrated with portraits.

History of Eagle Lodge : Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons, Hillsboro, N. C., 1791-1937

Studebaker, Robert B. · 1937

Robert B. Studebaker's history of Eagle Lodge No. 19, the Masonic lodge in Hillsborough, from its chartering in 1791 to 1937. Published in 1937, 104 pages with three leaves of plates and illustrations.

Elsewhere

Masonic Hall, Oldest Lodge in the State, Hillsboro, N.C.

1900

Hillsborough's stone Masonic Hall with its columned entrance and a sign for Eagle Lodge No. 71, A.F. and A.M., described on the card as the oldest lodge in the state. Postcard number 1448, about 1900 to 1910.

Hillsboro, N.C. Eagle Lodge No. 71

Paul C. Koeber Co., New York, N.Y

Eagle Lodge No. 71 in Hillsborough, published as a postcard by the Paul C. Koeber Company of New York. It is a masonic building and a historic one, concerning fraternal lodges and fraternal organizations.

Masonic Lodge, Hillsboro, N.C.

W. A. Hayes Drug Store, Hillsboro, N.C

The masonic lodge building at Hillsborough, published by the W. A. Hayes Drug Store there. Fraternal lodges, fraternal organizations, masonic buildings and historic buildings are all indexed, along with Hillsborough and Orange County.

Published by or for it

Invitation from Eagle Lodge No. 71 to Greensboro Lodge No. 76

1825

Letter from the officers of Eagle Lodge No. 71 in Hillsborough, dated 20 September 1825, inviting the Masons of Greensboro Lodge No. 76 to the dedication of their lodge. The cover asks the postmaster to deliver it promptly. Part of North Carolina Memory.

Freemasons. Eagle Lodge No. 19 (Hillsborough, N.C.) records, 1791-ca. 1950.

Freemasons. Eagle Lodge No. 19 (Hillsborough, N.C.) · 1791

Lodge records of Eagle Lodge No. 19 of the Freemasons in Hillsborough, running from 1791 to about 1950 and amounting to some 1,200 items in 2.75 linear feet. Part of the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, collection 5194. Topics include Freemasonry and masonic lodges in Hillsborough and North Carolina, and the history of clubs and societies in the town.

UNC

Surveys and maps of the area

Not about Eagle Lodge alone: the architectural surveys that cover its town or the county, and maps drawn while it stood. Several of the surveys can be read free online at NC Digital Collections.

Hillsborough architectural survey

Slane, Heather Wagner · 2017 · hmwPreservation

Survey of Hillsborough's historic buildings by Heather Wagner Slane of hmwPreservation, completed in September 2017. The 40-page report covers the town's architecture and history with color illustrations and maps.

Time in place, place in time : history and sense of place in Hillsborough, North Carolina

Warren, Cheryl Davis · 2005

Cheryl Davis Warren's 2005 study of history and sense of place in Hillsborough, 216 leaves with illustrations, maps and a bibliography. Written as human geography, it treats the town's past alongside its social conditions and the ways residents understand where they live.

UNC

[Plan of the town of Hillsborough in Orange County, North Carolina]

Sauthier, Claude Joseph · 1768

Claude Joseph Sauthier's 1768 plan of the town of Hillsborough in Orange County, reproduced as a colored facsimile of the pen and ink manuscript on a sheet 43 by 53 centimeters. Relief is shown by hachures and the sheet is indexed for points of interest. The 1975 reproduction was made from negatives taken of the original in the Map Room of the British Museum.

UNC

Plan of the town of Hillsboro, taken in October 1863

1863

Plan of Hillsborough drawn in October 1863, showing the downtown blocks around the crossing of Tryon and Churton Streets, with the Eno River, spelled Enoe on the sheet.

Birdseye View of Hillsboro, N.C. Looking East

1905 · A. C. Bosselman & Co., New York, N.Y

Bird's-eye view of Hillsborough looking east, with houses and industrial buildings, on a postcard published by A. C. Bosselman & Co. of New York about 1905 to 1915. Card number 11116.

Found a book OCPL doesn’t own? You can often borrow it through interlibrary loan at OCPL.

Start at OCPL

Books in OCPL’s Rebecca B. Wall Local History Collection at the Main Library in Hillsborough whose titles, catalog subjects or descriptions are about this site. The Friends’ recommended starting points are labelled.

  • Rebecca Wall Collection · NC 369.1 STUDEBAK The History of Eagle Lodge No. 19 A .F. & A. M Studebaker, Robert B. · 2024

    History of Eagle Lodge No. 19 of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons in Hillsborough, by R. B. Studebaker and J. Frank Ray. Three volumes bound as one carry the lodge's story from 1791 to 2022; the first volume originally appeared in 1937. Illustrated with portraits.

  • Rebecca Wall Collection · 369.1 STU The History of Eagle Lodge No. 19 A .F. & A. M Studebaker, Robert B. · 1993

    Hillsborough's Eagle Lodge No. 19, A.F. & A.M., in a history by R. B. Studebaker and J. Frank Ray, two parts bound as one: 1791 to 1937, first published in 1937, and 1938 to 1992. Printed in North Carolina without a date, probably in 1993; 227 pages with eight leaves of plates. The lodge's hall in Hillsborough dates from 1823.

  • Rebecca Wall Collection · NC 369.1 STUDEBAK History of Eagle Lodge: Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons, Hillsboro, N. C., 1791-1937 Studebaker, Robert B. · 1937

    Robert B. Studebaker's history of Eagle Lodge No. 19, the Masonic lodge in Hillsborough, from its chartering in 1791 to 1937. Published in 1937, 104 pages with three leaves of plates and illustrations.

Where to look next on the shelf

These books don’t necessarily mention Eagle Lodge, but they cover where it stands, its kind of building and the land, family and burial records behind it, and they are where a search for a place like this usually goes next. All are at OCPL, most in the Wall Collection.

Histories of the town and county

  • Start here · NC 975.656 LLO History of the Town of Hillsborough, 1754-1982 Lloyd, Allen Alexander · 1983

    A 1982 revision of Allen Alexander Lloyd's history of Hillsborough, now written with Pauline O. Lloyd and carried forward from the town's founding in 1754 to 1982. Published in Hillsborough by A. A. Lloyd, 310 pages with illustrations and a bibliography.

  • Rebecca Wall Collection · NC 975.656 HOLADAY Hillsborough Holaday, Chris · 2002

    J. Chris Holaday's Images of America volume on Hillsborough (Arcadia, 2002), built mostly from photographs and postcards. Chapters cover homes, churches and schools, business and industry, local people, scenes around town, and sports, entertainment and events.

  • Foundational · 975.656 RYAN Orange County Trio: Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro, North Carolina, Histories and Tour Guides Ryan, Elizabeth Shreve · 2004

    Elizabeth Shreve Ryan's combined histories and tour guides for Hillsborough, Chapel Hill and Carrboro, the three towns of Orange County, with the University of North Carolina treated alongside Chapel Hill. Each town gets a narrative history and a tour of its streets and buildings. Published by Chapel Hill Press in 2004, 369 pages with illustrations and maps.

Buildings and surveys

  • Foundational · NC 720.975 BIS A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Piedmont North Carolina Bishir, Catherine W. · 2003

    Catherine W. Bishir and Michael T. Southern's field guide to the historic buildings of the North Carolina Piedmont, arranged county by county from Wake and Franklin in the east to Mecklenburg and Gaston in the west. The Orange County section takes in Hillsborough, Chapel Hill and Carrboro along with the rural county, with entries on individual buildings and maps for finding them. Published 2003, 596 pages with illustrations and maps.

  • Foundational · NC 720.975 HILLSBOR Hillsborough Historic District Inventory 2006

    An inventory of the buildings in the Hillsborough Historic District, dated 2006. It concerns historic buildings and the buildings and structures of Hillsborough. Useful for anyone checking a particular property in the town's historic district.

  • Start here · NC 720.975 BEL Photocensus: A Photographic Survey of Buildings in the Hillsborough, N.C. Historic District Built Before 1950 Bellinger, Susan McArtor · 1991

    Susan McArtor Bellinger's photographic survey of the buildings in the Hillsborough Historic District put up before 1950, self-published in Hillsborough in 1991. Arranged as a guidebook, it records houses and other structures in photographs. 142 pages with illustrations.

Show 2 more
  • Rebecca Wall Collection · 917.565 DUL The Pelican Guide to Hillsborough, Historic Orange County, North Carolina Dula, Lucile Noell · 1989

    Lucile Noell Dula's guidebook to Hillsborough and its historic buildings, published by Pelican in 1989. It pairs a tour of the town with notes on its history, in 128 illustrated pages with a bibliography. Part of the Wall Local History Collection.

  • Start here · REF 275.6 LLO History of the Churches of Hillsborough, N.C. Ca., 1766-1962 Lloyd, Pauline O. · 1962

    Pauline O. Lloyd's history of the churches of Hillsborough from about 1766 to 1962, nearly two centuries of the town's congregations, with attention to the church buildings themselves. Published in Hillsborough in 1962, 151 pages with illustrations, maps and portraits, and a bibliography on the final page.

Land, family and burial records

  • Foundational · NC 333.3 DUNAWAY Hillsborough, North Carolina History of Town Lots: The Complete Reference Guide Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2013

    Stewart E. Dunaway worked through Hillsborough, N.C., lot by lot, giving each town lot a synopsis of its history, a plat showing where it sits and transcripts of the deeds he could locate for it. The second issue runs to 720 pages with illustrations, maps and facsimiles.

  • Rebecca Wall Collection · NC 333.3 DUNAWAY Hillsborough, North Carolina History of Town Lots: Addendum 2015 Dunaway, Stewart E. · 2015

    Stewart E. Dunaway's 2015 addendum to his history of Hillsborough's town lots, adding deed records arranged by lot number and further town history, with the expansion of the 1890s covered for the first time. Self-published in North Carolina as version 1.0, 446 pages with illustrations, facsimiles and maps. Topics include deeds, court records, land titles and real property in Hillsborough.

  • Foundational · NC 333.3 IND An Index to the Town Lots of Hillsborough: Orange County, North Carolina 1982

    An index to the town lots of Hillsborough, Orange County, compiled in 1982 as a guide to the deeds and court records that trace each lot's ownership.

Show 1 more

In the chronology

  1. Eagle Lodge is chartered at Hillsborough Eagle Lodge No. 19 was chartered at Hillsborough in 1791, among the first lodges under the Grand Lodge of North Carolina, with George Doherty as its first secretary. It stayed active until 1799 and then lay dormant until the masons revived it in 1819 under a new charter and a new number.
  2. Eagle Lodge meets in Chapel Hill and initiates Joseph Caldwell By special dispensation, Hillsborough's Eagle Lodge met in Chapel Hill and made Masons of Joseph Caldwell, then presiding professor of the university, and three other faculty members.
  3. Eagle Lodge is revived at Hillsborough after twenty dormant years Eagle Lodge, silent since 1799, was revived under a new number, 71. The Grand Lodge restored its original number, 19, in 1932.
  4. Eagle Lodge votes money toward a male academy in Hillsborough A year after its revival, Eagle Lodge voted to put money toward building a male academy in Hillsborough.
  5. Eagle Lodge runs a lottery to pay for its Masonic Hall Eagle Lodge held a lottery over eleven years and used the proceeds to build the Masonic Hall in Hillsborough, still in use in 1953. People: James Strudwick Smith
  6. James S. Smith's building commission starts Hillsborough's brick Masonic Hall In July 1823 commissioners James S. Smith, Thomas Clancy and J. P. Sneed advertised in the Hillsborough Recorder for proposals to build a brick Masonic Hall in the town. The cornerstone was laid on November 23, 1823, for the Greek Revival hall designed by William Nichols and built by local brickmasons John Berry and Samuel Hancock. People: John Berry, William Nichols, Samuel Hancock
  7. The cornerstone of Eagle Lodge's Masonic hall is laid on West King Street The cornerstone of the brick Masonic hall at 142 West King Street, designed by state architect William Nichols and believed built by brickmasons John Berry and Samuel Hancock, was laid on November 23, 1823. The lot was deeded to the lodge in 1824 after the building went up. People: John Berry, William Nichols, Samuel Hancock
  8. Eagle Lodge Masons lay the cornerstone of the new Orange County courthouse Masons of Eagle Lodge, with brethren from University Lodge, laid the cornerstone of the new courthouse in Hillsborough, with Dr. James S. Smith acting as deputy grand master. The Rev. William M. Green gave the oration in the old courthouse nearby. People: James Strudwick Smith, William Mercer Green
  9. Masons lay a cornerstone at the Hillsborough Military Academy A delegation from Eagle Lodge took part in a Masonic cornerstone ceremony at the Hillsborough Military Academy in 1859.
  10. Eagle Lodge's rooftop observatory is taken down and a hipped roof built In 1862 the glassed-in observatory on the roof of the Masonic hall, said to have predated President Caldwell's 1831 observatory at the university, was removed and the present hipped roof built.
  11. Masons lay the cornerstone of Grimes Dormitory Masons from Hillsborough's Eagle Lodge and Chapel Hill's University Lodge laid the cornerstone of Grimes Dormitory. Past Grand Master Samuel M. Gattis of Eagle Lodge ran the ceremony and gave the address. People: Samuel Mallett Gattis
  12. Eagle Lodge gets back its original number, 19 In 1932 the Hillsborough Masonic lodge, chartered as No. 19 in 1791 and revived in 1819 as No. 71, had its original number 19 reinstated. The lodge still owns and meets in its 1823 hall.
  13. Masons lay the cornerstone of the new Orange County courthouse at the county bicentennial On the opening day of the county's bicentennial week, Grand Master Edwin T. Howard and Eagle Lodge No. 19 laid the cornerstone in the half-finished courthouse. Chief Justice William A. Devin gave the address.
  14. Eagle Lodge is listed in the National Register On April 16, 1971 the National Park Service listed Eagle Lodge in Hillsborough in the National Register of Historic Places.
  15. Lightnin' Wells and John Dee Holeman play the Hillsborough Arts Council's Traditional Music Series The Hillsborough Arts Council's 2007 Traditional Music Series presented Lightnin' Wells and John Dee Holeman at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 24, 2007, at the Masonic Lodge, 142 West King Street, in downtown Hillsborough.

Open these in the chronology →

Research sources

Places to visit 7

Maps, surveys, and the ground itself

Show all 7

Read contemporary evidence 11

Newspapers, photographs, and records of the time

Show all 11

Search beyond the index 5

Other catalogs, databases, and guides worth searching

Ask locally 6

Local organizations that preserve the story and can help you go further

Nearby

Two mice reading back to back against a leaf, with the hand-lettered words Friends of the Orange County Public Library
Illustration by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell, gifted to the Friends 2026