IOOF, Pueblo Lodge #8 - 325 and 327 West 10th Street, Pueblo, CO 81003
The History of Odd Fellowship in Pueblo, CO
Empowering our Community with Pueblo Lodge #8, IOOF
From the dust of a cattle town and trading post, rose Pueblo, CO. In 1854, the great Christmas Massacre occurred at El Pueblo (Fort Pueblo), where men, women and children were slaughtered by the Ute Indians. In 1859, Pueblo became a stopping point for those taking part in the Great Gold Rush! Within several years, Pueblo had become a growing city with buildings, streets, hotels, bars, and brothels.
The first accounts of Odd Fellows in Pueblo are in 1865. There were 5 men from the Kansas area that had come together in Pueblo to form their unofficial Odd Fellows Lodge. In 1869, the Grand Lodge of Colorado was formed, and three Odd Fellow lodges were granted charters in Pueblo. The Star Lodge, The Ark Lodge, and The Pueblo Lodge. The Pueblo Lodge was originally given the name of Pueblo #9, but several months after the original charter, it was changed to Pueblo #8.
Pueblo #8 started in a two-story wooden building located in downtown. In 1894, the building was lost to fire. For several years, Pueblo #8 met with the brothers of the Ark Lodge while construction of their new building was underway. In 1901, the new lodge hall for #8 opened at the corner of 7th Street and Grand Avenue. Over the years, the Star Lodge and the Ark Lodge consolidated into Pueblo #8, forming one, strong unit. In 1994, the members of Pueblo #8 chose to sell their aging hall for numerous reasons.
Pueblo Odd Fellows began to shrink and the numbers aged as they met inside the local Masonic lodge for a number of years, and then...in a members house. In 2022, new life was breathed into Pueblo #8, and they began their current growth period. Now, Pueblo has a new lodge hall and is the cornerstone of Odd Fellowship in southern Colorado.
