94 Main St.? Printer, feed store, dance hall, etc.

By Kara Didrich | Manor Ink

Livingston Manor, NY – The building at 94 Main Street in this hamlet, known today as “the Eastern Star,” has been one of Livingston Manor’s most continuously active public buildings for nearly 140 years. Initially built by the Masons for their local temple, the Masonic Hall also has hosted civic meetings, church suppers, fundraisers, political gatherings and social events.

“The Masonic Hall building was built in the fall of 1886, and was officially opened with a Masonic meeting on Jan. 15, 1887,” according to town historian Fred Fries. In 1911, the building was used as the headquarters for the Livingston Manor National Bank. Six years later, the building was also used to host Home Guard Drills and equipment storage during World War I. In the 1950s, there was an overcrowding crisis in the Manor school, causing the Board of Education to consider using the building as an extra classroom.

Printshop for the local paper and more

Several businesses and organizations occupied the ground floor of the Masonic Hall for years at a time. The local newspaper, The Ensign, had its printing press on the ground floor of the building for several years before relocating to Dubois Street. “William Ensign took over as publisher of the newspaper, The Times, renamed it The Ensign, and set up his printing shop in the Masonic building in 1896,” Fries explained. “The Ensign would later become the Livingston Manor Times.”

Johnston’s Feed Store shared the space with The Ensign initially, but then occupied the entire ground floor starting in 1897 when the paper moved. In 1904, Jacob Goodsir opened up a hardware store in the building and installed a glass windows as the storefront.

Part of the interesting history of this building are the various organizations and activities that took place within it. The Ladies Aid Society of the Presbyterian Church held their supper there in 1906 and again in 1916. The Lester White American Legion Post held a dance in the hall in 1926, and political organizations that used it included the Ku Klux Klan Women’s Auxiliary in 1925.

On Mar. 13, 1995, the Order of the Eastern Star took title to the building from the Masons. The building has been in their hands since then, holding regular meetings upstairs. In 2001, the building was first referred to in the press as the “Eastern Star” rather than the “Masonic Hall.”

Sold to the town’s library

The Livingston Manor-Roscoe Library, located next door at 92 Main Street, purchased the Eastern Star on Oct. 21 of last year and officially renamed the building the Manor Branch Library Extension. Summer reading programs, book sales and other library programs have been held in the building for several years.

“The Library was delighted when the Eastern Star organization offered to sell it to us,” said Amy Hines, library trustee and co-chair of its Future Planning Task Force. “The Library is in the early stages of planning for a new library building to meet the changing needs of the community. Our best option to date is to stay in our current location, but with the addition of the lot next to us currently occupied by the Eastern Star,” she said.

Hines also confirmed that the Eastern Star organization will continue to hold meetings upstairs until the new library can be built. “We plan to invite people to give input on the design and plans for how the library building will be used and will be reaching out in the months ahead,” she said.