The History of the Hughson Odd Fellows No. 461 and Odd Fellows Hall

The History of Hughson: The People, The Places, The Traditions of a Small Town

For over 100 years, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows No. 461 has hosted a community Easter Egg Hunt, the Saturday before Easter. For many years, that tradition is preceded by a breakfast in their historic lodge on Hughson Avenue, originally moved from Ceres to its place by mule and wagon as the original Hughson Hotel.. It was

The Hotel Hughson is not to be confused with another hotel in Hughson’s name built by Luella Hughson, the widow of Hiram Hughson, who opened The Hotel Hughson in Modesto.

Hughson Hotel’s history begins in 1907, when the Gillette Hotel was moved from Ceres to Hughson by Charles Flact and Charles Minniear. The two-story structure was cut in half for the five-mile move along Whitmore Road. The first half was moved by two 65-horsepower island engines and 60 two-headed mules over three weeks. The second half was moved by mules alone and took half a week.

An additional floor was built under the hotel after it arrived on the northwest corner of Hughson Avenue and Third Street. In 1908, the $25,000 three-story Hughson Hotel opened. “It housed drummers traveling through the area and provided lodging for teachers, salesmen, etc. Every room had an outside window view, with the coast range on one side, snow-capped sierras on another, and the endless sweep of the beautiful San Joaquin Valley in front and back.

In its first decade, the town showed outdoor movies projected onto the hotel's wall. James V. Date, Hughson’s first fire commissioner and manager of the Hughson Hotel and next-door livery stable, sponsored the movies to promote local shopping. He built an annex to the left, connecting it to the hotel. The annex housed a barber shop, real estate office, pool hall, and soda and snack concessions.

After 117 years, the Hughson Hotel is still standing. It is now the Odd Fellows Hall at 6943 Hughson Avenue.

The IOOF was chartered in Hughson on April 28, 1922, 102 years ago. Today, you’ll see their mission, “to improve and elevate the character of mankind,” carried out by philanthropic projects and social activities for the entire community to gather and form relationships.

The IOOF was organized in Hughson in 1944. As an international fraternity, the Odd Fellows have existed for centuries, with the earliest documentation from 1730. It exists as one of the oldest fraternal societies. Internationally, its membership totals millions.

Originally published in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch on August 4, 2023. The Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch is part of MidValley Publications - committed to the power of the positive press. Reprinted with Permission.

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