Lodge Profile: Then and Now at Sonora No. 887
In Sonora, a historic lodge gets a facelift—and a new call group to call it home.
By Brian A. Robin
The historical importance of the building is obvious to any visitor to the Sonora Masonic Temple. For more than 150 years, the circa-1873 structure on Main Street hosted Tuolumne № 8 (later renamed Argonaut № 8), which during the 19th century jostled with San Francisco’s California № 1 to be the state’s largest group. The building was also Tuolumne County’s first post office during the Gold Rush.
That was then. Now, fraternity leaders are hoping to write a new chapter in the temple’s long and proud story.
This spring, the hall was ceremonially rededicated following a two-year renovation that involved updating the flooring, paint, and electrical throughout the building, as well as installing a prep kitchen and refurnishing all rooms. Those aren’t the only big developments. Beginning in late 2023, the newly formed Sonora № 887 has taken up residence in the historic digs with an aim to continue the long history of Masonry in this part of the Sierra foothills.
The new lodge, leaders say, is something of a placeholder. Following the consolidation of Argonaut into Calaveras № 8 in 2023, the Grand Lodge purchased the historic hall and set about forming a new group made up of Masons from the Bay Area and elsewhere to maintain a Masonic presence in the region. The lodge meets four times a year, with members driving or flying in for what amounts to a quarterly retreat.
“The idea is to maintain a Masonic footprint in Tuolumne County,” says Khalil Sweidy, the group’s treasurer and also the director of financial planning and real estate for the Grand Lodge of California. Others from the Grand Lodge, including Grand Secretary Allan Casalou and director of membership Michael Roberts, are also on the lodge’s roster. Their hope is that in time, local Masons take over the officers’ chairs.
For now, though, members are forming their own traditions.
One of those involves a post–stated meeting visit to the Thirsty Prospector, a locally famous bookshop that’s also a bar and features access to a Gold Rush–era underground tunnel system. Master Mark McNee describes those gatherings as “an executive committee meeting where everyone’s invited.”
McNee was an obvious choice to lead the new group: As a past master of Phoenix № 144, Sons of the Desert № 226, and Seven Hills № 881, he is “not just an experienced master, but someone who demonstrated the ability to motivate people and inspire them,” Casalou says. Sonora is the third lodge that McNee has played a part in launching.
“Where you meet matters,” McNee says. “When you meet in a place that’s beautiful, it compounds the experience. The artwork, the color choices, it’s beautiful. So if you’re a visitor and you walk in and see this beautiful place with guys who are super warm and welcoming, that’s infectious.”
With the building “99 percent complete,” according to Sweidy, and with a new retail tenant occupying the bottom floor, the goal is to spread that infectious spirit among Sonora’s residents.
“Having a meeting there, I can’t even describe it,” Sweidy says. “Just when you think you’ve checked every box on your fraternal bucket list, this opportunity comes up and you realize this is something that’s very, very special.
Photos by:
Chris Kaufman
Steve Rhoades
