On June 8th, 1901, eleven men assembled in IOOF Hall in Louisburg to form a lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.  They were granted dispensation by the Grand Lodge of Kansas, and seven others joined to become the eighteen original members.  In February 20 of the following year, the Peace Lodge was granted a charter, and became Peace Lodge 243 of Louisburg, Kansas. 

Membership grew and steadily increased to 135 members at the beginning of 1929.  The lodge suffered membership loss during the Great Depression, but recovered to have 142 members in 1967.

The Louisburg Masonic Lodge has found itself involved in several historic moments.  The lodge sent a letter opposing the on sight making of President-elect Taft a Mason to the Grand Lodge in 1909.  President Harry Truman wrote in his diary about visiting Louisburg to present a 50-year emblem to Huge Lee, calling it “a grand meeting”. 

In January 1961, the room above the funeral home was rented and converted into a lodge hall.  Members provided money and labor to renovate the space, where they met until December, 2020. The old building was falling into disrepair and possibly unsafe, so a new, safe location was needed.

As of December 11, 2020 the lodge moved the charter to 4 South First Street, Suite B, Louisburg, Kansas. The new Suite was built out by lodge members who worked long hours, often every day for weeks to move the contents of the old lodge, wire, plumb, paint... on hands and knees, on ladders, standing, sitting, pouring their hearts and souls into preparing their lodge. It's a smaller lodge than they had above the old funeral home, but when everyone is there, it feels like family.

As a side note, the new location was newly built as a portion of the MD Electric Building whose owner knew how much Masonry meant to his son, Michael Johnson III. So Mike Sr. built the lodge into his plans. Thank you Johnson family.