Landmark Lodge #103 began as Sioux City Lodge #103, which on June 4, 1857 at the 14^th General Assembly of the Grand Lodge of Iowa received its Charter. They paid the sum of $10.00 for the dispensation and $20.00 for the Charter. The Lodge was composed of 11 members at that time, which included Andrew M. Hunt, WM.; E. K. Robinson SW.; A.W. White JW.; F. Wixon, Treas.; George Avery, Sec.; A.C. Sheet, SD.; E. B. Wixon, JD.; and Jas. Curry, Tyler. The other three brothers were John J. Saville, J.K. Cook, and M. Saville. John Saville was the only member to attend that General Assembly and carried proxies for the SW, and JW.

There is a little discrepancy in the date of the issuance of dispensation for Sioux City Lodge. One source gives the date as January 3^rd, and the minutes from the Grand Lodge show March 9^th. I will not refute either claim. However, it is evident that we owe our beginnings to the Master Masons of Bluff City Lodge #71, and by their assistance, we obtained that dispensation.

In 1869, some dissension was occurring among the ranks in Sioux City Lodge, and an application to form a second lodge in Sioux City was made. I have not been able to determine the cause for dissension, but there was a comment about “bad politics”, and I have not been able to determine further, what that term meant. I will make a comment on that statement. A letter from L. D. Parmer to PGM T. S. Parvin, then Grand Secretary, made the comment about “bad politics”. In 1857, there was an L. D. Parmer listed as Past Master of Hawkeye Lodge #30 in Muscatine, and PGM T. S. Parvin was a member of Iowa Lodge #2 in Muscatine, and then in 1858 there is listed, as a member of Sioux City Lodge #103, an L. D. Parmer. Those brothers would have understood the letter, but without context, it is not clear what he meant. A dispensation was granted on November 26^th to J. P. Allison, WM; W. D. Stiles, SW.; E. Morley, JW.; and 4 others to form Landmark Lodge, which was recommended by Sioux City Lodge #103. Landmark Lodge #272 received its Charter on June 6, 1870 at the 27^th Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Iowa. On May 11, 1876, Sioux City Lodge #103 (57 members), and Landmark Lodge #272 (75 members) consolidated to make Landmark Lodge #103.

The formation of two other Blue Lodges came out of this Lodge. On March 12, 1890, Tyrian Lodge #508 received its dispensation to form a second Lodge in Sioux City, and its Charter on June 11, 1890. Woodbury Lodge #663 received its dispensation on December 22, 1953, and its Charter on June 10^th 1954. Woodbury subsequently consolidated with Landmark Lodge #103 on March 11, 1985. Members of one or more of these bodies probably initiated the development of the other three Lodges, in Sioux City and Leeds.

We found some excerpts from the South Dakota Lodge of Masonic Research dated December 1956, which gives credit to Landmark Lodge for the early formation of Masonic Lodges in the Dakota Territories. It names brother Franklin Wixon, a Charter member of Sioux City Lodge, who became Master of St. John’s Lodge #166 (its Iowa number) in Yankton, Chartered in June of 1863 by the Grand Lodge of Iowa. His brother Eli Wixon, also a Charter member of Sioux City Lodge, was mentioned as a Charter member of Elk Point Lodge #288 (its Iowa number), receiving it Charter in June of 1871. Another Sioux City Lodge brother, Rev. Melanancthon Hoyt was the first WM of St. John’s Lodge #166 and later became the first Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Dakota. The other Lodges in the Dakota Territories that were Chartered by the Grand Lodge of Iowa included Incense Lodge #257 (1869) in Vermillion, Minnehaha Lodge #328 (1874) in Sioux Falls, and Silver Star Lodge #345 (1875) in Canton. These Lodges relinquished their Charters in 1876 and helped form the Grand Lodge of Dakota.

The Lodges moved many times in the early years to finally provide themselves a relatively permanent home in the Masonic Temple on Ninth and Nebraska. The first meeting was in the office of George Weare on March 25, 1857, which reportedly was in a log cabin above Sawyer’s store on the levee, at 6^th and Douglas. The Lodge then moved to the “second story of a frame building just south of the south alley of the present courthouse”. The Lodge moved in 1868 to the Booge Building on the NW corner of 3^rd and Pearl streets. They later resided, successively, at Fourth and Douglas, Fifth and Douglas, and Sixth and Pierce. On January 19, 1919 a fire destroyed the American Block where the Lodge was housed, and with it most of the lodge belongs, including the Charter, but also all of the other bodies that were housed in that building. The only Blue Lodge unaffected by the tragedy was Morningside Lodge #615. Following the fire, most of the bodies moved to 308 Pierce St., and finally, they moved to the Masonic Temple, which they had all built, on Ninth and Nebraska.

It should also be noted, that other Masonic bodies also originated from our early beginnings. Sioux City Chapter #26, Royal Arch Masons received its Charter August 6, 1860. This was only 3 years after Sioux City Lodge received its Charter. Columbian Commandery #18, Knights Templar received its Charter October 18, 1870. The Scottish Rite Bodies received Charters between 1906 and 1907, for its 4 constituent bodies, and Abu-Bekr (Shrine) Temple was formed in 1907. Zadok Council #24, Royal and Select Masters received its Charter on October 5, 1910.

Of notable interest, Landmark Lodge laid the cornerstone of the first Woodbury County Courthouse. Judge George Wakefield, who was then Worshipful Master of Landmark Lodge, acting as proxy for the Grand Master, laid it on July 20, 1876. When that courthouse was raised, in 1916, the cornerstone was presented to Landmark Lodge, but it must have been lost in the fire of 1919. Landmark Lodge also, as escort, helped lay the cornerstone of the Peavy Grand building at Fourth and Jones in 1887.

Sioux City Lodge as parent and part of Landmark Lodge has been a source for spreading Masonic light to western Iowa and South Dakota since its inception, and will continue its leadership in Masonry well into the future. We have always been ready to assist other Masonic bodies, and will continue to share the light of Masonry, Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth, as long as it shall survive.