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The Three Link Fraternity
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is one of the largest and oldest fraternal orders in the United States. Odd Fellowship was founded in England, where it grew up during the 18th century. The Patriotic Order in England was followed by the Union of United Orders and the Loyal Order. In 1813, various lodges of the Union Order organized the Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows. American Odd Fellowship was founded as Washington Lodge No. 1 in Baltimore in 1819, and the following year affiliated with the Manchester Unity. The three links of Odd Fellowship's symbol represent Friendship, Love and Truth.
32
Lodges in Missouri
1838
Grand Lodge chartered
600,000+
Members worldwide
30
Countries with lodges
Visit the sick, relieve the distressed and educate the orphan
Visit the Sick
Members visit those who can no longer make it to meetings, to let them know they are still thought of.
Relieve the Distressed
Lodges take an active role in making their communities and the world a better place.
Educate the Orphan
The IOOF Educational Foundation offers loans and scholarships to students.
Bismarck • Blue Springs • Boonville • Butler • Charleston • Chillicothe • Columbia • Crocker • Farmington • Fredericktown • Fulton • Hartville • Higginsville • Hurdland • Lebanon • Marceline • Mexico • Missouri City • Oak Grove • Poplar Bluff • Richmond • Rolla • Salem • Springfield • St. Joseph • St. Louis • Sullivan • Tebbetts • Washington • Windsor
From a Baltimore tavern to the first lodge west of the Mississippi
1819: Washington Lodge No. 1. Thomas Wildey and four members of the Order from England institute Washington Lodge No. 1 in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 26, 1819.
1835: Traveler's Rest Lodge No. 1, St. Louis. Chartered in 1834 and instituted on June 3, 1835 with six members. It was the first lodge of our Order west of the Mississippi.
1838: The Grand Lodge of Missouri. Wildey Lodge No. 2 is instituted on June 12, 1838. The next day the Past Grands of both lodges are organized into a Grand Lodge under a charter issued by Thomas Wildey.
1851: The Rebekah Degree. Odd Fellowship becomes the first national fraternity to include both men and women.
Today: Lodges statewide. The Grand Lodge office moved from St. Louis to Columbia in 1980 and to Fulton in 1988. Lodges meet from St. Joseph to Poplar Bluff.
The History of Rebekahs
On September 20, 1851, IOOF became the first national fraternity to accept both men and women when it formed the Daughters of Rebekah, known today as simply, Rebekahs. Schuyler Colfax (Vice President of the United States, 1869 to 1873, under President Ulysses S. Grant) was the force behind the movement. Though the term sorority was not yet coined in this year, it may be considered that the Rebekah is the first and oldest sorority in the world.
In the Rebekah degree the stories of prominent women of the Bible are used to express universal traits that exemplify honorable living of courageous women; that teach exemplary living grounded in Friendship, Love and Truth, the cornerstone for both Odd Fellows and Rebekahs.
I am an Odd Fellow
I believe in the Fatherhood of God, and the Brotherhood of man. I believe in Friendship, Love and Truth as basic guides to the ultimate destiny of all mankind. I believe my home, my church or temple, my lodge, and my community deserve my best work, my modest pride, my earnest faith, and my deepest loyalty, as I perform my duty "to visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan" and as I work with others to build a better world, because, in spirit and in truth, I am and must always be, grateful to my Creator, faithful to my country and fraternal to my fellow man.
Write to us
Call or write
(573) 975-0635
PO Box 336, Fulton, MO 65251-0336
Calendar
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