History
The town was founded by Freemasons, hence its name. Middle Town, the largest of the three towns, had a post office, boarding house, and a general store. It also housed the offices of the town's newspaper: The Masonic Pioneer.
The Lorena post office opened in 1905, changed its name to Masonic in 1906, closed in 1912, re-opened in 1913 and closed for good in 1927.
Masonic's population in 1906 was about 500. The principal mine, called the Pittsburg-Liberty Mine, produced $700,000 in gold before closing in 1910. By 1911, Masonic was in decline, although some mines kept in production until the 1920s.
Read more about this topic: Masonic, California
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The disadvantage of men not knowing the past is that they do not know the present. History is a hill or high point of vantage, from which alone men see the town in which they live or the age in which they are living.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)
“American time has stretched around the world. It has become the dominant tempo of modern history, especially of the history of Europe.”
—Harold Rosenberg (1906–1978)
“The history of the past is but one long struggle upward to equality.”
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)