Noble D. Larner

Noble D. Larner was 31 years old when he answered President Abraham Lincoln’s call for 75,000 volunteers to serve in militias for 90 days at the start of the Civil War. After his three months of service, Larner worked as a clerk in the Department of the Interior and was the Ward 3 Director of the Draft bureau. (Although the President was not subject to the conscription act due to his age and his role as commander-in-chief, he decided to set a public example by personally hiring a "representative recruit" to serve in the Union Army. Larner personally selected President Abraham Lincoln’s substitute.) Larner also served three years on the DC city council from 1863 to 1866, during which time he helped establish a paid fire department and the creation of a fire alarm telegraph system. In October 1863, he became a Master Mason at Benjamin Brown French Lodge, No. 15, and two months later was a charter member of LaFayette Lodge No. 19. From 1867 until his death in 1903, he was secretary of the Masonic Hall Association. “The greatest monument to his busy life” was the Masonic Temple at 9th and F Streets NW, as he was due much credit for its creation. He went on to hold different leadership positions in the Grand Lodge of DC, including Grand Master from 1881 to 1882.