Cornerstone ceremony for county admin building could happen

Unable to ask the county maintenance director for more information about the new administration building on April 19, the board of supervisors decided to table a 167-year-old nonprofit association’s request to hold a public cornerstone ceremony when the new offices are fully constructed.

Wade Sheeler of the Newton Masonic Lodge was accompanied by Craig Davis, grand secretary of the Grand Lodge of Iowa, to ask Jasper County for permission to organize the ceremony. The local Masonic Lodge has operated in Newton since 1855, and the Grand Lodge has existed since 1844.

“We’ve done two cornerstone ceremonies for the county in the past. We did the one in 2009 on the 100th anniversary of the courthouse, and we did one a few years later for the veterans memorial on the east side of the building,” Sheeler said after handing supervisors documents about the ceremonies.

Until the development of steel-frame construction, most buildings were erected by stacking stone on stone, the Masonic Information Center documents said. The foundation stone was the first stone placed underground at the beginning of the foundation. The cornerstone was the first stone placed above ground.

Oftentimes, the cornerstone is found in the northeast corner of a building.

Davis said cornerstone ceremonies were conducted before Iowa even achieved its statehood in 1846. Freemasons have performed cornerstone ceremonies on civil buildings, churches, schools and government buildings. Davis said the ceremony is a way for Jasper County to celebrate its administration building.

“And bring opportunity to have a grand opening for the community for the new administration building,” he said. “It’s a ceremony that takes approximately 30 minutes on our part, and then we have speakers. Supervisors can speak or any other people that would like to talk that day. So you can plan on about an hour.”

Ceremonies begin with a procession with about 30 masons in attendance, Davis said. Members of the community and local media are invited to attend. Led by the grandmaster, the Masonic Lodge dedicates the building using the implements of masonry: corn, wine and oil.

“During that ceremony we also pay tribute to the United States flag, to our public school systems and to our government,” Davis said. “Then at the end we ask the supervisors, or someone to speak on behalf of the supervisors, to get up and talk about the project and give us a little information on what has happened.”

From there it is largely up to the county on what to do next. Davis said the county could hold a ribbon cutting ceremony or something to that affect afterward.

For the 100-year anniversary of the Jasper County Courthouse, the cornerstone was made by cutting into the side of the building on the northeast side. However, the same practice likely will not be used for the administration building, which is made of a completely different material than the courthouse.

Davis recommended a plaque be used for the cornerstone piece, instead. The board would have to work with Sheeler to include whatever information the county wants on the plaque. Jasper County would not pay for it, Davis said. The Masonic Lodge would cover the costs.

Sheeler said, “Probably the two most important cornerstone ceremonies in the history of this country: George Washington led the cornerstone for the (United States) Capitol, and there was also a cornerstone ceremony for the White House. It’s been done hundreds and thousands of times across this country.”

Supervisor Brandon Talsma said an open house of the new facility was being planned before offices began to relocate from the courthouse and annex building.

Supervisors seemed largely supportive of the idea but were unsure about the timeline of the administration building. Jasper County Maintenance Director Adam Sparks did not attend the board meeting to answer supervisors’ questions. The board decided to table any action until next week.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext 6560 or at cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com