On July 3, 1865, Eleven Mason's assembled to formulate plans for organizing a lodge and on November 4,1865, their held their first meeting. Eric Albertson was named Worshipful master.
On December 30, 1865, they voted to take steps in the building of the hall on a piece of land that was transferred to them by William Hesser and on January 27, 1866, they elected trustees to oversee the construction of the hall that had been proposed. On February 24, 1866, Eric Albertson was awarded a $1000 contract to build the lodge. So the lodge was built and on November 27, 1866, the lodge held its first chartered meeting.
The statue above the Masonic hall is the best known landmark in Mendocino and people come form all over to see it. To this day the true meaning of the statue is held secret by the Mason's and give only this explanation:"The figures depicted are used by the Masons' in their ritual work and thereby unknown to persons except Mason's," stated Wilber Wade (lodge master) in a LA Times article (3 Dec. 1989). Each part of the statue holds a certain meaning, for example, the broken column shown with father time and the weeping virgin standing over a book is symbolic of mourning. The statue consists of many elements which as one Mason put it, all he could say was that all parts of the statue together mean "time, patience, and perseverance will accomplish all things."
"That statue really should not be there", said Fran Lewis (an assistant grand secretary of the Grand Masonic Lodge of California) in the same LA Times article. "It should never have been done. Technically, according to our beliefs, it is something that should not be publicly displayed"