GOLDEN LODGE HALL

Mountain Lodge No. 11 was originally constituted in 1887, 30km northwest of Golden in the C.P. Rail boomtown of Donald, a little railway town on the Columbia River.  The town was given the name “Donald” in honour of Donald A. Smith, later Lord Strathcona, who made his fortune building railways, most notably the railway that opened the Canadian Northwest to settlement.  When Canadian Pacific relocated its divisional headquarters from Donald to Revelstoke in the late 1800’s, the town was mostly abandoned. Mountain Lodge chose to relocate to Golden rather than Revelstoke, and in 1900 had its first meeting in town above the H.G.Parson store on the north side of Kicking Horse River.

The building here, at 910 10th Avenue, is the fourth location for Mountain Lodge in Golden and was constructed in 1972. The lodge hall is on the second floor and the main level has always been leased by the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch. The Lodge’s previous building is located immediately to the north of this location and is still retained by the Lodge. It was built in 1932 and the exterior was restored in 2010.

The members of Mountain Lodge along with its fraternal concordant bodies, Mountain Shrine Club and the Order of the Eastern Star, all share a vision and mission of philanthropic responsibility and have supported numerous local and national charitable causes including the Golden & District Hospital, Canadian Cancer society, BC and Southern Alberta Children’s hospitals and Shriners Hospitals for Children.