Click image to enlarge. Constructed in 1848, the old Lodge 863 (formally Tuckabatchie Lodge 96) in Crawford is one of only seven pre–Civil War fraternal halls surviving in Alabama. It is also the most notable structure remaining from 1839–1868, when Crawford served as the seat of Russell County. Several years ago, the lodge was almost lost when the Masons decided to replace it with a new building. As the demolition date approached, a local philanthropist intervened and moved the structure a short distance to its current location. It escaped destruction once, but today it again faces an uncertain future.
In addition to being used by the Masons, the lodge also served the community as a meeting hall, school, and church. However, despite its varied uses, since being photographed in 1935 by the HABS, the building has undergone few changes. Th e two-story, temple-front building retains its four original tapering square columns and outside “dog-leg” stair. Th e original weatherboarding and wood shake roof are intact beneath asbestos siding and asphalt shingles. Today, the building stands vacant and deteriorated, with neither a contemporary use nor funds to maintain it. Intervention is desperately needed to save this structure.
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