File:Red Men's Hall, 40 W Potomac Street Around the Turn of the 20th Century.jpg

Summary

Red Men's Hall, 40 W Potomac Street, soon after it was built around the turn of the 20th Century. The initials IORR that are seen on the building between the 2nd and 3rd floor windows, stand for Improved Order of Red Men. The organization traces its origin to certain secret patriotic societies founded before the American Revolution. They were established to promote liberty and to defy the tyranny of the English Crown. Among the early groups were: The Sons of Liberty, the Sons of St. Tammany, and later the Society of Red Men.

Their rituals and regalia are modeled after those assumed to be used by Native Americans. The organization claimed a membership of about half a million in 1935, but has declined to less than 38,000.

The lodge later became home to the Fraternal Order Of Eagles 1136 and now houses the Brunswick Heritage Museum. The storefronts on the street level were occupied at different times by a Piggly Wiggly grocery store, Watson's Cut Rate and later Moler's Prescription Arts Pharmacy.

According to Reuben Moss, "the porch where the Indian stood was removed when the Eagles plastered the front of the first floor with tiles, and the American Legion eventually got him. He is now inside the building just opposite where he had been on the outside."

(Photo courtesy of the Brunswick Heritage Museum and Brunswick Community Library; Frederick County Public Libraries)