On the night of May 25, 1918, the Hawthorne Masonic Lodge, No. 212, F. & A.M. was instituted. Meetings for the first five years were held at Lafayette Hall at Fire Company No. 1 on Lafayette Avenue. Membership swelled and the group created the Hawthorne Masonic Building Association for the purpose of erecting a building where they could hold meetings and other activities. A plot was purchased on Lafayette Avenue and on November 7, 1925, a cornerstone for the Masonic Temple was laid. The first regular meeting of the Lodge was held in the finished building on September 16, 1926. By 1948, there were 200 members of the Hawthorne Masonic Lodge. Today, the Masonic Temple building has been converted into offices.