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Lodge Of The Ancient Landmarks Furniture

Lodge of the Ancient Landmarks No. 441 in Buffalo, New York was founded in 1858. In 1868 the Lodge took delivery of their new suite of furniture to furnish the new Lodge room recently leased at the corners of Main and Court Streets in downtown Buffalo. This furniture was commissioned and built by the local firm of T. Hersee and Sons, of which at least three members of the Hersee family belonged to the Lodge and William was its second Master. The furniture consists of a Master’s Station (East), a Senior Warden’s Station (West) and a Junior Warden’s Station (South) along with 13 Large Settees for members to sit on, Past Master’s Chairs (6), Secretary and Treasurer’s Desks and Chairs (2), and other miscellaneous pieces which can be viewed in the photographs. These items represent the last known complete suite of furniture produced by the T. Hersee Company which closed its doors in the 1950’s. At the time, T. Hersee and Sons was a direct and respected competitor of the Kittinger Furniture Company, also of Buffalo. The furniture is hand carved from Black Walnut wood and upholstered in blue velvet.

Approximate sizes are as follows:

Master’s Station – 19’ high, 10’ wide and 6 ½’ deep.

Senior Warden’s Station – 12’ high, 13 ½’ wide and 7’ deep

Junior Warden’s Station – 10’ 7” high, 6’ wide and 6’ deep

Large Settees – 5’ high and 7’ 3” wide

Past Master’s Chairs – 7’ 7” high

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