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Freedom's Friend Lodge
102 South Fremont Street
St. Michaels, Maryland
Talbot County
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| Freedom’s Friend Lodge is located on the west side of
Fremont Street in St. Michael’s, Maryland. The two-story
frame building was constructed in 1883 as the Freemen’s
Friend Lodge of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge
# 1024. The building was built by African-Americans for the African-American
community of St. Michael’s. The building has served many
purposes since its construction. Through each of these various
uses the building has undergone changes. In its partially restored
state the building provides insight into these changes. The south
and east elevations have been restored with the replacement of
windows and the uncovering and painting of horizontal board siding.
The north and west elevations remain unrestored, covered in asphalt
siding with boarded up windows. |
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| The entire building measures approximately 79
feet deep by 20 feet wide. The south side of the building exhibits
breaks
in the elevation that identifies the various stages of construction.
The presence of a single vertical board over the existing horizontal
siding, approximately 40 feet from the front of the building,
suggests that the original portion of the building ended at that
location. At some point in time the main block was extended another
25 feet to the rear. The end of that addition is the corner of
the main block, 65 feet 5 inches from the front of the building.
A 14 feet deep by 18 feet wide one-story addition is attached
to the rear ( west) elevation of the building. |
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| The north elevation of the building also contains evidence
that the building has been adapted through the years. This unrestored
elevation is partially covered in asphalt shingles applied over
horizontal board siding. A few rows of shingles are missing,
exposing the board siding near the sill. There is a seam evident
in the exposed siding. There is also discoloration on the cornice
at the same point as the seam in the siding. Both elevations
show a doubling of the brick piers at this point, 65 feet 5 inches
from the front of the building, near the base of the sill. |
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| While the interior of the building also experienced
a number of changes, evidence remains of its original
use as a lodge. Just inside the entrance a winder stair
is located in the southeast corner. A stage occupies
the west end of the first floor, and a straight stair
leads from the stage area to the west room of the second
floor. |
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| The first floor walls still retain the original wainscoting. |
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Today the second floor is divided into two
open rooms by a set of accordion doors. |
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| At the time of documentation the east room had been gutted,
allowing a clear view of the braced framing. The framing
appears to be a form of transitional framing, with a mix
of construction techniques such as the use of diagonal braces
and narrow, closely spaced studding found in balloon
framing. A hole in the second floor, however, shows a plate
seperating the first and second floor studding, which is
evidence of platform framing. |
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An inspection of the second
floor led to the discovery of a door with a peephole and
cover leaning against a wall.
While the original location of the door is unknown, based
on a comparison with other lodge floor plans, it was probably
located at the top of the stairwell. The second floor west
room was in a finished state. In the southwest corner a cupboard
runs from the ceiling to the floor. |
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| Freedom’s Friend Lodge exhibits similarities to the Charles
Sumner Lodge, such as the open floor plans, the existence of
stages, and the presence of doors with peep holes. While Freedom’s
Friend Lodge has undergone many changes it maintains its basic
construction features. The building is simply constructed and
contains very little decoration on the exterior or the interior. |
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The presence of shutters for the windows and a returning
cornice on the south elevation are the only signs of exterior
decoration. The first floor, interior of the building contains
wainscoting, which is the only sign of interior decoration. |
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| Freedom’s Friend Lodge stands as an example of preservation
through continued and adaptive reuse. The continued use of the
building through the years has probably kept the building from
being torn down. The lodge was owned by the Odd Fellows until
1995 and the group received $30,000 in financial grants from
the Maryland Historical Trust to stabilize the undercarriage
of the building. In addition, this grant placed an easement on
the lodge. The current owners are adaptively reusing the building
as a coffee shop on the first floor and a loft apartment on the
second floor. The current project is restoring the north side
of the building, which has not been dealt with since the 1950s.
In addition, the owners are working to constantly maintain the
lodge, such as rebuilding the window sashes and painting the
sashes. Because it is now occupied as a commercial endeavor,
the Lodge is no longer eligible for non-profit grants and will
have to seek other funding sources. |
| There is no contact information available. |
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