A Brief History of Milford Lodge No.344 Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania.

Our Lodge was originally formed in 1799 outside of Milford as Lodge No. 82 in what was then Wayne County. Various setbacks caused the chapter to lose its Charter, and the Lodge became extinct in the 1820s.

Years later, at the urging of local residents pining for a new chapter, a formal charter was granted in 1862, and the Milford Masonic Lodge No. 344 started anew. The Milford Lodge has since been an integral part of the Freemason’s mission, spreading goodwill and offering support to charities at both the local and national levels.

Milford Masonic Lodge No. 344 met in various locations until 1901 when it moved into The Wallace Building at 204 East Fourth Street, remaining here until 1911; in 1929 the organization returned to the Wallace Building.

The Wallace Building, constructed in 1875, is in the Milford Downtown Historic District and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The building is a three-story Italianate commercial building of brick with gable roof and gable-end orientation to the street. With the exception of the modern front door, the original storefront is intact with a double and single bracketed cornice and a large glass store front display windows and recessed centered entrance.

Storefront cornice extends across entire storefront. Slightly rounded hood-molds with a keystone surrounds the windows. These elements are repeated with greater emphasis in the gable window. Three-bay upper façade with segmental-arched fenestration and flat-topped sash, one-over-one light. Built for storekeeper John C. Wallace, for use as his general store. Later housed a pill manufactory. The first floor is occupied by a tenant and The Lodge uses an entrance on the Pear Ally side and occupies the second and third floors.