Baldwin, WI— To celebrate its 150th anniversary since receiving its Charter from the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin, the Collins-Spring Valley Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons (F. & A. M.) of Wisconsin in Baldwin will host a free pancake breakfast at the Baldwin American Legion Post at 410 Maple Street from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Sunday, September 29, 2024.
Few people know much about Free Masonry. Many Baldwin residents may not aware that a Free Mason Lodge has been in downtown Baldwin for 150 years. This is likely because most Lodges fail to notify their neighbors of their presence.
The Wisconsin State Legislature formed Baldwin on December 4, 1874, but there was a problem. Part of the Village line west of Baldwin was outside Baldwin boundaries. Town line road denoted this line. West of the road was Hammond’s farm.
That property’s taxes went to Hammond’s treasurer, not Baldwin’s. D. R. Bailey again negotiated the West’s annexation of that region. Bailey worked with the State Legislature to release 40 Hammond acres and annexe them to Balwin in February 1876. Unfortunately, Hammond residents disliked Mr. Bailey’s move.
Baldwin Village and Collins-Spring Valley Lodge No. 192 Free Masons have been explicitly linked since our founding over 150 years ago.
Baily Lodge moved from the D. R. Bailey Building to the second story of the Security State Bank Building on the North side of Front Street on the Northeast intersection of Main Street and 3rd Street (8th St.) in 1884. Collins-Spring Valley Lodge No. 192, F. & A. M. owns this structure.
The Lodge submitted a resolution to alter its name from Bailey Lodge to Collins Lodge on June 10, 1884, in honor of Wisconsin Grand Master Charles F. G. Collins, who served. Grand Master Collins was chosen Grand Secretary in 1883, but he perished in a fire in December while trying to rescue his property.
Spring Valley, Wisconsin was founded as a logging village in 1857 when logging crews followed the Eau Galle River upstream from the sawmill and developed many small businesses to fulfill their requirements.
Spring Valley’s first family settled in 1861, and a schoolhouse was erected in 1867. The Village got a post office in 1870 and a watermill in 1874.
After discovering iron ore in 1876, the Eagle Iron and Spring Valley Iron and Ore Companies began processing it into pig iron in 1891 or 1892.
The Village of Spring Valley grew overnight as more residents moved in. Many miners, smelters, and businesspeople moved to Spring Valley as its population rose. Many men brought their families. Many of these men were Freemasons.
Spring Valley Masons found several masonic lodges within a day’s ride of their settlement and visited them when time allowed. In 1893, Durand Lodge No. 149, Collins Lodge No. 192 in Baldwin, Maiden Rock Lodge No. 196, and Hancock Lodge No. 229 in Ellsworth recommended Spring Valley Masons to organize a new lodge.
Spring Valley Masons petitioned the Wisconsin Masonic Grand Lodge for permission to form a new lodge on December 27, 1893. The Grand Lodge of Wisconsin chartered Spring Valley Lodge No. 262, F. & A. M. in June 1894.
Charles Haun, the new lodge’s first Master, went 250 miles to meet his family in Dodge County and receive the Spring Valley Lodge’s Charter. Spring Valley was incorporated by the Wisconsin State Legislature in 1895.
Baldwin and Spring Valley bonded when Collins Lodge No. 192 and Spring Valley Lodge No. 262 merged owing to diminishing enrollment and interest in Spring Valley. The Grand Lodge of Wisconsin approved the merger, and on May 14, 2004, Collins-Spring Valley Lodge No. 192, F. & A. M. in Baldwin was formed.
Although this name change may have misled some, the Lodge has remained in Baldwin and has no intentions to leave because the Spring Valley Lodge facility was sold.
However, Lodge members have discussed renaming the Lodge to better represent its location. For now, the name will remain, and we’ll see what the Baldwin and Spring Valley, Wisconsin Free Masons’ future holds.
The Collins-Spring Valley Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons (F. & A. M.) of Wisconsin in Baldwin celebrated its 150th anniversary of receiving its Charter from the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin by hosting a free pancake breakfast at the Baldwin American Legion Post at 410 Maple Street from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Sunday, September 29, 2024.
We hope you can join us for this free meal to honor this milestone in Mason history in the area!