Gavel Made of Wood from Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, Presented to I.O.O.F. Grant Lodge No. 335, Redkey, Indiana

Gavel Made of Wood from Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, Presented to I.O.O.F. Grant Lodge No. 335, Redkey, Indiana

In Masonic ritual, the gavel is a symbol modeled on a stonemason’s hammer that reminds Masons to divest their hearts of vice. In the hand of a lodge Master, a gavel represents his authority as leader of the lodge and, practically, is used to run meetings and maintain order. Many other fraternal organizations, such as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Daughters of Rebekah—a women’s auxiliary associated with the Odd Fellows—use gavels during meetings and as an emblem of leadership.

For more on this object please visit the online collection record here.

Museum Purchase, 2014.036

1914