Founded before the Civil War as Quitman Masonic Lodge, Flora Lodge No. 119, A.F. & A.M., petitioned for its charter on Jan. 5, 1852, with James N. Brown as Worshipful Master, A. Gunter as Senior Warden, and Francis C. McKnight as Junior Warden, joined by petitioners George Birdwell, W. L. Brown, S. M. Flournoy, I. D. Goes, E. H. McRee, I. H. McRee, M. W. Matthews, and Joshua Smith. Without any recorded explanation, it received its present name on Christmas Day of 1852. Its original furniture was made by Wood County pioneer Peter Gunstream at a cost of $10.75, but in 1854 a fire destroyed the charter, jewels, and furniture. A combination Presbyterian church and lodge hall was built on this site and occupied in 1855, and members voted to prohibit smoking on the premises. At the end of the Civil War, the lodge was penniless and struggled to pay 30 cents a pound for candles bought in 50-pound lots. The early lodge worked diligently, often meeting on Saturday mornings, dismissing to attend preaching services downstairs, and then resuming work afterward. In 1917 electric lighting ended 65 years of candles and kerosene lamps, and in 1949 Flora Lodge built a new two-story structure at this historic location.