WTAP-TV is reporting that the Grand Lodge of West Virginia's Masonic Home in Parkersburg is being demolished this week. The retirement home was originally built in 1921 for West Virginia Masons and their relatives. It has been closed since 2016.
Beginnings of demolition can be seen in this photo from WTAP-TV
The once bucolic setting of the Masonic Home now overlooks the local shopping mall.
The sad reality is that Obamacare, Medicare and Medicaid rules, combined with an avalanche of local, state and federal medical facility requirements over the last 30 years have completely upended the model of care for members that the Masonic homes were built around more than a century ago. They were created as part of a national movement to create a safety net to fraternal members and families at a time when health insurance, federal health programs and retirement packages did not exist. They predated even social security.
It's difficult and whoppingly expensive to operate such a facility today, and in almost every case, they are required to be open to the public, not just members. Some grand lodge Masonic homes have found ways to adapt and open to the public, whole still honoring their lifetime commitment to their own members. But others have not succeeded, or have simply abandoned these facilities and historic missions entirely. West Virginia is merely the latest.
Meanwhile, the downtown Masonic Temple in Parkersburg, built in 1915, was recently sold to the owner of the famed Woodcraft Supply Company. He intends to use it as a toy museum.
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