The Odd Fellows Windmill was a residential home for the Odd Fellows fraternal society in the Hollis neighborhood of Queens, New York (now part of New York City).
In 1882 a number of Odd Fellows of Brooklyn, New York, proposed that a home for aged members and their wives or widows be built on Long Island. By 1891, twenty-six lodges organized and a site was selected at Hollis, Queens. The Long Island I.O.O.F. Home Association began constructing the compound which included the windmill and the dedication was held on June 7, 1892. Eleven acres were purchased from H.P. Berger on South Street, between Farmers Boulevard and Hollis Avenue. A parade of craftsmen and well wishers 5,000 strong were in the line of march from Jamaica to Hollis. Over a 1,000 fraternal brethren arrived for the days festivities. There were over 8,000 English speaking Odd Fellows on Long Island at the time. [1]
The association president, Francie E. Pouch of the Magnolia lodge read his remarks to the crowd, as did leaders of the Artistic, Crusaders, Mayflower, Fidelity lodges and a marching band performed. Lodges had vied for the honor of furnishing and decorating the home. By then 37 lodges were part of the association. [2]
As first constructed on a plateau surrounded by a farm, the home had 18 rooms and a barn which opened in May 1892. However, what made the Odd Fellows Home unique was its windmill. The tower windmill held two 4,000 US gallons (15,000 L; 3,300 imp gal) water tanks that supplied all the home's needs via plumbing. The windmill was a vital part of the compound's infrastructure, and it became a symbol of the Odd Fellows Home. Later, a 75 by 75 feet (23 m × 23 m) expansion was added to the home, which included a banquet hall on the first floor and more rooms on the second. The porches were screened, and there were sun parlors and smoking rooms on either side. Each parlor had a library with one designated for light reading with magazines and newspapers and the other with more intellectual books. Lodges decorated each room according to their preferences, resulting in an eclectic mix of styles.
The windmill utilized a horizontal windpump of the kind patented in 1854 by Daniel Halladay, the vanes were probably constructed of metal and resembled a pinwheel. [3]
The Odd Fellows Home in Hollis was the first of its kind to allow craftsmen's wives and widows to be integrated as residents, with 17 couples initially residing in the compound. The Odd Fellows Home became a vital institution, serving the community for over a century.
In 1929, a total of 47 homes for the aged, indigent odd fellows and orphans were reported across the country. [4]
In 1938 there were 33 Odd Fellows still in residence in the home at 194-10 109th Road. [5] By the 1950s the home had seen a drop in Odd Fellows as did many other lodges across the country. It had transitioned into an orphanage and with a rise in bureaucratic rules governing such places, the home's governing body decided to close it's orphanages. The neighborhood was predominantly white until the mid-1950s, and the orphans who lived there came from this area. [6] However, in 1955, the region south of the railroad began experiencing an influx of African-American and Caribbean immigrants, which caused a demographic shift in the orphanage's inhabitants. Additionally, due to the phenomenon of white flight, the Odd Fellows no longer wanted to deal with the administrative challenges and decided to shut down the orphanage. Any children still in residence were transferred to other homes and the compound closed its doors.
The Jamaica Water Company was the primary supplier of water from wells to southeastern Queens and since the windmill only pumped water to its tanks, it was left in disuse and languished for many years. [7]
In 2004 it was demolished.
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The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political, non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Order of Odd Fellows founded in England during the 18th century, the IOOF was originally chartered by the Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity in England but has operated as an independent organization since 1842, although it maintains an inter-fraternal relationship with the English Order. The order is also known as the Triple Link Fraternity, referring to the order's "Triple Links" symbol, alluding to its motto "Friendship, Love and Truth".
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The Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, American Jurisdiction is a jurisdiction of the Grand United Order of Oddfellows in the United States, Jamaica, Canada, South America, and other locations. Since its founding in 1843, its membership has principally included African Americans, due to their being discriminated against in most other fraternal orders in America at the time.
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The Barnes Building, originally known as the Odd Fellows' Block, the Masonic Temple from 1909 to 1915, and later Ingram Hall, is a historic fraternal and office building located at 2320-2322 1st Avenue in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Designed in early 1889 and constructed in late 1890 by Seattle Lodge No. 7 of the International Order of Odd Fellows and designed for use by all of the city's Odd Fellow lodges, it is the earliest known surviving work of Seattle architect William E. Boone and George Meeker and remains in an almost perfect state of preservation. The Barnes building has played an important role in the Belltown Community and Seattle's dance community. It was used by the Odd Fellows for 17 years before their departure to a newer, bigger hall in 1909 and was home to a variety of fraternal & secret societies throughout the early 20th century, with the Free and Accepted Masons being the primary tenant until their own Hall was built in 1915. The ground floor has been a host to a variety of tenants since 1890 ranging from furniture sales to dry goods to farm implement sales and sleeping bag manufacturing, most recently being home to several bars. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as The Barnes Building on February 24, 1975.
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