Founded in 1827 by Brother John W. Smith, Hebron was one of Ohio’s best known early villages due to its strategic location at the juncture of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the National Road. Thus the Village became known as “The Crossroads of Ohio”. It is located at the juncture of the Old National Road, Route 40 and State Route 79.
The Canal connecting Lake Erie at Cleveland with the Ohio River at Portsmouth was constructed through Hebron in 1827-1828. The National Road from Cumberland, MD, to Vandalia IL, was completed through Hebron in 1834.
It was a popular center of business and industry and grew so rapidly that it was incorporated in just eight years in 1835. The Village was just 17 years old when Hebron Lodge was chartered.
Hebron Lodge was organized on May 28, 1844 under a dispensation issued by Grand Master William B. Thrall to Brothers Werter R. Davis, Samuel P Fidlar and William W. Gault. A charter was granted to Hebron Lodge on October 25, 1844.
Rev. Judge Samuel P. Fidlar lived on a farm south of Newark on Hebron Road. He was one of the honored Associate Judges of Ohio.
Colonel William W. Gualt was a former Licking County Sheriff and proprietor of a hotel in Newark on the south side of the square call the Bell Tavern and later known as the Mansion House.
Worshipful Brother Werter Davis was the first elected Master of Hebron Lodge. At that time he was minister of the Hebron Methodist Church.
The first Lodge meetings were held in the homes of various members. The third lodge room was located in a warehouse on the Ohio Canal at 149 East Main Street, around the year 1855. The fourth lodge room was on the second floor of a business building at 117 East Main Street around 1860. The fifth lodge room was on the second floor of a business on the Ohio Canal at 134 East Main Street around 1865. The Lodge then purchased its own building in 1870, a nice two story brick at 101 West Main Street, on the southwest corner of Main and High Streets. The first floor store room was rented for income, the Lodge meeting being held on the second floor. This was Hebron’s Masonic Temple until the year 1915 when the Lodge purchased Hebron’s third school house at 116 North High Street, from the local Board of Education. Dedicated ceremonies were held on September 21, 1915. This 36’x72’ building erected in 1877, with a sturdy foundation and 8 inch thick walls, stands as perfect today as the day it was built, and over the years has provided Hebron Lodge with an exceptionally fine meeting place.
This history was compiled by Brother Dave Morrow 11/28/1917 - 06/12/2013
The Canal connecting Lake Erie at Cleveland with the Ohio River at Portsmouth was constructed through Hebron in 1827-1828. The National Road from Cumberland, MD, to Vandalia IL, was completed through Hebron in 1834.
It was a popular center of business and industry and grew so rapidly that it was incorporated in just eight years in 1835. The Village was just 17 years old when Hebron Lodge was chartered.
Hebron Lodge was organized on May 28, 1844 under a dispensation issued by Grand Master William B. Thrall to Brothers Werter R. Davis, Samuel P Fidlar and William W. Gault. A charter was granted to Hebron Lodge on October 25, 1844.
Rev. Judge Samuel P. Fidlar lived on a farm south of Newark on Hebron Road. He was one of the honored Associate Judges of Ohio.
Colonel William W. Gualt was a former Licking County Sheriff and proprietor of a hotel in Newark on the south side of the square call the Bell Tavern and later known as the Mansion House.
Worshipful Brother Werter Davis was the first elected Master of Hebron Lodge. At that time he was minister of the Hebron Methodist Church.
The first Lodge meetings were held in the homes of various members. The third lodge room was located in a warehouse on the Ohio Canal at 149 East Main Street, around the year 1855. The fourth lodge room was on the second floor of a business building at 117 East Main Street around 1860. The fifth lodge room was on the second floor of a business on the Ohio Canal at 134 East Main Street around 1865. The Lodge then purchased its own building in 1870, a nice two story brick at 101 West Main Street, on the southwest corner of Main and High Streets. The first floor store room was rented for income, the Lodge meeting being held on the second floor. This was Hebron’s Masonic Temple until the year 1915 when the Lodge purchased Hebron’s third school house at 116 North High Street, from the local Board of Education. Dedicated ceremonies were held on September 21, 1915. This 36’x72’ building erected in 1877, with a sturdy foundation and 8 inch thick walls, stands as perfect today as the day it was built, and over the years has provided Hebron Lodge with an exceptionally fine meeting place.
This history was compiled by Brother Dave Morrow 11/28/1917 - 06/12/2013
