{"nrhp_refnum":"96000127","name":"Masonic Lodge No. 238","other_names":["Masonic Hall"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"600 S. Hamilton St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dalton","county":"Whitfield County","state":"GA","lat":34.76592015400007,"lon":-84.96803297399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-02-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Black","Social History","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story masonry commercial building at the corner of South Hamilton and Emory Streets in downtown Dalton, Whitfield County, Georgia, built c. 1915 by local men. It has retail space on the ground floor and an African-American Masonic meeting hall upstairs.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a good, intact example of a multiple-use commercial building with a street-level shop and an upper-floor lodge hall, with Commercial Vernacular Victorian detailing. It is also one of the last surviving commercial buildings from Dalton's historic black community, which centered on this intersection between 1900 and 1950. The lodge served as a focal point and unifying feature for that community.","narrative":"Built around 1915, this two-story brick building at South Hamilton and Emory Streets in downtown Dalton combines a street-level shop with an upstairs meeting hall for an African-American Masonic lodge. Local men, probably lodge members, constructed it. Details include brick pilasters on the front, ornamental corbeling above the second-floor windows and at the cornice, and a stepped parapet. Inside, the second floor keeps its wood floors, ceremonial platforms at each end, and raised seating along the room. The ground floor housed a barber shop, a grocery, and a plumbing supply business. Between 1900 and 1950 this intersection was the heart of Dalton's black community, with homes, churches, a school, and many small businesses. Today the lodge is one of the few commercial survivors of that neighborhood and still serves as a Masonic hall. It was recognized for its architecture, its commercial history, and its role in African-American and social history.","period_of_significance":"c.1915","architect_builder":"Dutch Hanson, Thomas Cunningham, Jim Richards, Dan Smith, and Harrison Jackson","architectural_style":"Commercial Vernacular Victorian","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The upper floor still functions as a Masonic hall. The ground-floor plumbing supply business no longer operates, though much of its inventory remains in the building.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:43.502504-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/96000127.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000127/2b360c5182-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000127/2b360c5182-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"GamblinMonkey","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whitfield_County_Masonic_Lodge_238.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">GamblinMonkey</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whitfield_County_Masonic_Lodge_238.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93209923","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masonic_Lodge_No._238","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6783698"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/whitfield-county/masonic-lodge-no-238-96000127/"}