PENDLETON — What started with nine Freemasons in 1841 took its latest step as the Madison Lodge No. 44 rededicated its building Saturday, May 20.

The building at 642 W. State St. in Pendleton has been the location since October 1988.

Lodge No. 44 is the 11th-oldest in Indiana and was the first in Madison County. It has more than 120 members.

There are six members who have been with the lodge for more than 60 years, including 99-year-old Joe Kinnard, who has been a member for 76 years.

In 1848, there were discussions of merging with a Chesterfield lodge and consolidating in Anderson (then known as Andersontown), but the proposal was rejected by the members. In 1863, the lodge donated $100 toward building a new school in Pendleton.

An architect was hired in 1892 for a fee of $100 to draw up plans for a new temple, which was built at 123 W. State St., where the lodge remained until it moved to the current site.

Some milestones in the history of Lodge No. 44:

• Twenty-one members of the lodge served during World War I, and all returned home after the war.

• At the year-end meeting on Dec. 31, 1912, a 5 cent fine was instituted for each meeting missed by a member.

• In January 1932, the lodge purchased a new “ultra-modern” typewriter to be used by the lodge secretary.

• The lodge celebrated its centennial anniversary in 1941 with an event that included a banquet and a tour of the Indiana Reformatory.