History of the Fredericksburg Moose Lodge

 The prevailing story is that the idea of forming a Moose Lodge in Fredericksburg was conceived by a few gentlemen in a garage on William Street (actually it was likely Alvin Hart’s garage on Hillcrest). Be that fact or urban legend, the inaugural meeting of what was designated Moose Lodge #1655, was held in the Fredericksburg Community Center on April 22nd, 1951. Around 200 visiting Moose members and dignitaries joined new local members in an institution exercise and installation of officers. The exercises were led by State Director Frank Ray. Other participants included Supreme Lodge Auditor Milt Hanson of Washington D.C., Deputy Supreme Governor Horace B Overstreet of Portsmouth, Deputy General Governor Barry Wolf of Norfolk, State President J. C. Stone of Newport News and Membership Director H.A. Wright of Front Royal. At the time of the inaugural meeting, the Lodge had over 150 members including 50 Charter Members. Edgar Dryden, who had served as the temporary chairman during the planning stages of the Lodge’s beginning, was installed as the first Governor of Lodge #1655.

 Following the founding of the Lodge in April 1951, the Lodge held weekly meetings in the Fredericksburg Legion Hall. That filled the bill temporarily but as membership continued to grow a larger facility was needed. During the meeting of May 10th, 1951, the Lodge members voted to obtain use of a rental building located at 2717 Jefferson Davis Highway – directly across the street (8th Avenue) from Paul’s Grill. That meeting was attended by State Moose Director Frank Fay and Membership Director H.A. Wright who inspected the facility. On May 17th, 1951, the Lodge “Headquarters” was moved to the former Silver Ballroom of Paul’s Grill – an event celebrated by a buffet dinner. This is what became known as the Lafayette Boulevard location. This building no longer exists but was located on the east side of Lafayette at the current site of the Sheetz gas station.  

  As the Lodge continued to grow, the need to purchase property to accommodate its expansion became evident. In September 1954, the Lodge purchased an acre of land located on the Fredericksburg Bypass/Alternate US 1, ironically - called Jefferson Davis Boulevard. Immediate building plans were developed but the process took several years to complete – with much of the construction being accomplished by Lodge members. Research of the Free-Lance Star Archives, show that a dance to benefit the Lodge Building Program was held in November 1956 – so the move to Route 1 was obviously some time after that date. Another FLS article in April 1958, refers to the new Four-Mile Fork Civic Association meeting at the “new Moose Lodge” on the west side of the Bypass – so the move was completed by that time. The facility was located at 4603 Jefferson Davis Boulevard. In 1974, the Bypass was re-designated as Jefferson Davis Highway. In 1975, without a change in location the Lodge address was changed to 4605 Loren Drive, which is the access road that runs parallel to JDH from Hudgins Drive to State Rt. 208. This property is located off JDH/Loren Drive - just south of the intersection with Harrison Road. The property currently is occupied by a self-storage facility.

   The late 1970s saw the Lodge continue to grow and it became apparent that the Route 1 location was falling behind the demand. On June 30th, 1978 – the Lodge purchased a three-acre plot from Carl D. Silver off State Route 3 in Spotsylvania County, which had been a trailer park. In October 1978, the Route 1 property was sold to Hopson and Cox Associates with a provision that the Lodge could retain occupancy while a new Lodge Home was being constructed in the Five-Mile Fork area of Spotsylvania County. Groundbreaking for the Five-Mile Fork facility was held on July 11th, 1979. Construction of the one-story, 9,000 square-foot building was contracted to L. White and Company. This facility included Social Quarters, the Hall, a full kitchen and office spaces. The anticipated completion date of November was not met due to unforeseen circumstances, including flooding from the adjacent water tower, but the new facility was open for use on Dec. 26th, 1979 with the first major event being a New Year’s Eve Dance days later. 

The first major renovation of the Five-Mile Fork Lodge Home began in the summer of 2001. With the addition of 1,800 square feet – the Social Quarters was extended to the north and new office spaces were implemented. This construction also included a modernization of the outside facade and signage. Major infrastructure improvements including the circulation were included. This phase was completed by an extensive renovation of the kitchen in 2007.

Another major renovation took place in the spring of 2013. The Social Quarters received a completely redesigned bar and was expanded by the removal of two of the bathrooms. The bathrooms off the hallway were remodeled and a second bar with connecting doorway was added in the Hall. The renovation was capped off with new ceiling tiles throughout the Social Quarters and some cosmetic rework on the exterior.

Another renovation occurred in 2018. With bingo no longer being held in the Big Hall, the hall was split into two sections – divided by a retractable wall. The west section became the meeting room while the east became the Non-Smoking Social Quarters.