Harmony Lodge No. 3 moves to accessible new Jacksonville home

The old VFW hall at 903 East Morton Avenue is getting a second life, and that matters in Jacksonville. Harmony Masonic Lodge No. 3 is moving into the former VFW Post 1379 site, a familiar veterans’ property that has stood on East Morton since about 1930, and the shift keeps another civic building from slipping into vacancy.

For the lodge, the move marks a practical break from its longtime home at 345 West College Avenue. The Jacksonville Masonic Center, a three-story Depression-era building, was listed for online auction in April 2020 with no reserve price. The 23,760-square-foot parcel had housed Harmony Lodge No. 3 and Zingabad Grotto since October 1935, but declining membership and rising maintenance costs made the old building harder to sustain. Lodge membership had fallen from nearly 1,200 in the mid-20th century to about 250 in recent years.

The new address offers a different kind of space. The building at 903 East Morton is a one-level facility, a major change for members and guests who will no longer have to navigate a multi-story hall. Worshipful Master Jeremy Coumbes said the lodge wanted a place with ADA accessibility and room to expand, especially as its charitable and community outreach work continues. The move also brings Zingabad Grotto along with the lodge, keeping both groups together under one roof.

Support from Rabbi Rob Thomas and Lauren Thomas helped make the relocation possible through a donation, underscoring how the project drew backing from beyond the Masonic fraternity. Rob Thomas has also been tied in local reporting to downtown Jacksonville investment work, including rehabilitation of multiple buildings, a sign that private efforts continue to shape the city’s older commercial and civic properties.

Harmony Lodge’s history reaches deep into Jacksonville’s civic past. The lodge was originally chartered in 1837 under the Grand Lodge of Missouri, then became Harmony Lodge No. 3 after the Grand Lodge of Illinois reorganized in Jacksonville in 1840. Other local historical accounts place the founding in Jacksonville on October 4, 1841, with John Gregory as master, Matthew Stacy as senior warden and George Hackett as junior warden, reflecting the early record’s uneven trail.

Renovations at the East Morton site are expected to begin soon, with a formal dedication and public open house to be announced later. In a city of 17,616 people, the move offers a small but visible example of how Jacksonville’s legacy organizations are adapting, reusing older buildings and keeping community spaces active rather than leaving them idle.