By: Dave Rosenberg for The Dirt
In the heart of Downtown Davis stands a solid unassuming building at 415 Second Street that is owned and occupied by the oldest organization in Davis. That building is the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge Hall—and it happens to be the home of the oldest continually operating entity in Davis: the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge.
The Odd Fellows Lodge is a fraternal order that was chartered in 1870—more than 150 years ago. The fraternity is older than the University of California, and older even than the incorporation of the City of Davis. In 1870, there was no City of Davis. The area was known as “Davisville” and the Odd Fellows, at their inception, were identified as Yolo Lodge #169.
Today, they are known as the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge #169—chartered right after San Luis Obispo #168 and right before Knights Ferry #170.
The Davis Odd Fellows Lodge has grown to almost 400 members—almost equally divided between men and women, and it has the largest membership of any Odd Fellows Lodge in the world—right here in little-old Davis. Members in the Davis Lodge range in age from 18 to 88.
The original home for the Odd Fellows in Davis was on G Street. Eventually, that G Street facility was sold to the Masonic Lodge, and through the generosity of an Odd Fellow who left a bequest in his will, the present Lodge Hall was built on Second Street in 1955.
If you walk, bike or drive past the Lodge today, you can’t miss it. The Odd Fellows Lodge Hall announces its presence with a large vertical neon sign, that is lit day and night.
The Lodge is occupied and used continuously. The Davis Odd Fellows Lodge has some 70 committees, many of which provide community serving events including: Thursday Live! music at the Lodge, Second Sunday Bingo, the Zombie Bike Parade, A Taste of Davis, The Davis Chocolate Festival, the Davis Classic Film Festival, Breakfast with Santa, Breakfast with the Bunny, and more.
The Lodge also owns surrounding property and rents to tenants including Hunan Chinese Restaurant and Bar, Elite Property Management, a clothing store by the name of Treehouse Vintage, and a salon called The Refinery, as well as the food truck operation of Handheld Sweet and Savory Pies.
The fraternal motto of the Odd Fellows is “friendship, love, and truth.”
Dave Rosenberg has been a member of the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge since 2004. He has served four terms as Noble Grand of the Lodge, and currently is a Trustee of the Lodge. Rosenberg is a Yolo Superior Court Judge, and previously served as a Yolo County Supervisor and as Mayor of Davis.
Do you run a club or organization in Davis or Yolo County you’d like to share with the wider community? Submit a story about your group to hanna@thedirt.online, subject: Groups.
