Beulah Grove Lodge named to Georgia 'Places in Peril' list

Some other buildings on the list include Chickamauga Masonic Lodge No. 221 in Walker County, Dasher High School in Valdosta, Dudley Motel, Cafe and Service Station in Dublin, Lee’s Mill Ruins on the Flint River in Forest Park, McConnell-Chadwick House in Milton, Old Campbell County Courthouse in Fairburn, Wilkes County Training School in Washington, Yates House in Ringgold.

The Beulah Grove Lodge sits at the start of the South Douglas Scenic Byway, 19 miles of Highway 166 as a part of the Georgia Scenic Byways Program. The Scenic Byway program is an economic development tool that defines the character and appeal of unique areas of the State.

Beulah Grove Lodge No. 372 is the oldest building of its kind still standing in Douglas County. It was built around 1910 and was once the home of the Pleasant Grove Colored School. It has been at least four decades since anyone has regularly used the old Beulah Grove Lodge No. 372, Free and Accepted Masons building in Douglas County. In recent years it has gone into disrepair.

Gwen Sommers Redwine is the historian leading the local restoration effort and helped to get the building on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.

Many similar schools were built to serve a need and predated the Rosenwald schools built during the Roosevelt administration, Redwine said.

In 1910, Lodge members built the structure to house the Pleasant Grove Colored School on the ground floor and a Masonic lodge space on the second floor.

“Why this is so important is that it’s probably the oldest building like this remaining in America, that is, of this age and of its genre, still standing, she said.

Redwine, contacted by phone, said that while that distinction may deter efforts to knock down the old building, she confirmed it’s appropriate for the ‘Peril’ list, particularly in terms of neglect, lack of maintenance and insensitive public policy.

Through Places in Peril, the Trust seeks to encourage owners and individuals, organizations and communities to employ proven preservation tools, financial resources and partnerships in order to reuse, reinvest and revitalize historic properties that are in peril.

“We hope the list will continue to bring preservation solutions to Georgia’s imperiled historic resources by highlighting ten representative sites,” said Mark C. McDonald, CEO of the Trust.

Owned by neighboring Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, and the steward attached to the lodge, according to Redwine the church itself has been dealing with other issues and not able to extend much effort toward making any progress toward renovations.

But Pleasant Grove Baptist did previously establish a fund and paid for a tarp to help protect the building from oncoming winter weather, but raising funds for renovations hasn’t gained much ground.

And Redwine said that they’re facing a mentality in the community that may not get the historical import for the building, but rather considers it more of an eye-sore and would probably like to see it come down.

According to a recent AJC article noting the ‘Peril’ list and characterizing Lodge No. 372 specifically,

“Today, a raggedy blue tarp dangles on the side of the building, while ripped brick red tar paper exposes rotted and faded wooden walls.”

Redwine said she has spoken to Douglas County commissioners who are in favor of her efforts to renovate and preserve the building, but no real plan for lending any support has been forthcoming.

Redwine said she has gotten quotes from two separate contractors. The renovations have been estimated to fall in the $250,000 to $500,000 range.

She says the project is currently in a wait-and-see limbo in terms of what develops and she hopes that some renovation efforts will avail themselves in the near future.

And she hopes that adding Lodge No. 372 to the state’s list will lead to some action both locally and otherwise and wants to get the word out.

“Hopefully with that designation it will bring attention from around the world that the building needs to be saved,” Redwine said.