Gold Hill- Odd Fellows Lodge

Storey County

Gold Hill was home to the first Odd Fellows Lodge in Nevada. Wildey Lodge #1 was instituted on April 1, 1862. The first five I.O.O.F. Lodges in Nevada included Gold Hill, Silver City, Virginia City, Carson City (1862) and Dayton (1863). A second Odd Fellows Lodge was formed in Gold Hill a few years later. Parker Lodge #13 was instituted on October 8, 1868. The ruins that you see in the photographs belong to Wildey Lodge #1. Charter members of Wildey Lodge #1 were Levi Hite, Peter Meyer, W.W. Shelley, J. Pfoutz, Michael Schwartz, O. Eastman, J.W. Phillips, William H. Beegan (Began), H.C. Jacobson, A.B. Elder, John Lambert and D. Van Vranken (Vanoranken). I am not sure of the date that this lodge stopped meeting.

I.O.O.F.= Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Sources: History of Nevada 1881 (By: Thompson & West); History of Nevada (By: Sam P. Davis); I.O.O.F. Grand Lodge of Nevada Historical Marker dedicated June 16, 1936.