Gary, it is quite probable that the original lodge, in the 1860s and 1870s, was located across Main Street from the Old Masonic Cemetery, thus their lot would have been outside the city limits. There is an incomplete record, in the burnt conveyances, with Dr. W.D. White involved, and it is about the lodge. Remember that he was Abbeville's first Worshipful Master. On May 11, 1885, the Masons purchased lot 46 from Ophelias Bourque for $125. Therefore, the Masons had not begun their lodge on lot 46 until after that time, not in 1884 as yesterday's newspaper article stated. 9-12-85, 8-25-1888, 9-22-1888, 10-20-1888 are the dates in the Meridional , that deal with the leasing of the temporary courthouse, etc. In most instances, these dates cover the meetings of the PJ sometime prior to these dates. Below is a segment of an article that I wrote years ago on the courthouse. This segment deals with the temporary courthouse following the destruction of our courthouse by fire in April 1885. "Almost immediately a search was made for a site to erect a temporary courthouse. The Masonic Lodge, which had lost its meeting room on the second floor of the courthouse, as well as its accessories in the fire, came up with a solution. The lodge's leaders entered into a contract with the police jury to have a temporary courthouse built on the lodge's lot (46 Megret's portion). Representing Abbeville Lodge No. 192 were Gus Godchaux, Jos. T. Labit, Jacob Isaacs, and John A. Brookshier. Howard Hoffpauir, president of the police jury, represented his governmental body. The police jury agreed to erect a $1,500 building--30 feet by 60 feet--on lot 46. For its part, the lodge agreed that in consideration of the above and of the use of half of the upper story of the building for three years, rent free, it would agree to buy this building from the parish at its actual cost when erected, less wear and tear. By the middle of June, the brick foundations for the temporary courthouse had been laid, and by July 1885, construction had begun. By the way, the police jury accepted Solomon Wise's bid for the lumber, delivered at Mr. Wise's own steamboat landing, which was in the middle of the block between Port and Lafayette Streets. How many slow, laborious trips did the delivery wagons have to make? They probably traveled on Port, around Magdalen Square, up Concord and then turned left on State Street to lot 46. Surely State Street wasn't a one-way street then! Another unknown is whether the lumber arrived at the landing on board a steamboat, or a schooner. Schooners often delivered goods to Abbeville By September 5, 1885, the painters had finished their job, and large safes had been moved into the courthouse on lot 46. On October 12, 1885, the police jury met one last time at the Hook & Ladder Co. building, then adjourned immediately to meet at the temporary courthouse. Work on the new courthouse began on June 25, 1890, more that five years after the previous courthouse had been destroyed. For the next six months, the construction of this building gave Abbevillians something to pass their time and something to talk about. This was a major project for our town. Fires had not yet destroyed chunks of Abbeville; Sol Wise had not yet had his brick store built, and the current St. Mary Magdalen church was about 20 years away from construction. Therefore, our citizens had not witnessed such a project, at least not in Abbeville. So, curiosity and awe must have been nearly palpable during all those months around the courthouse square." Ken Dupuy