By June Mathews
For The Tribune
TRUSSVILLE — When The Trussville Tribune plunged headlong into the world of digital media last year, publisher Scott Buttram realized the new venture would require more room than the newspaper’s 900-square-foot office on Valley Road would allow.
“I’d kind of been looking around for another, more visible location before that,” he said, “but when we started formulating the idea of an in-house studio, I knew it was time to get serious.”
Then he heard the upper floor of the old Masonic building on Main Street was about to become available, and the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of moving there.
“We’d not only be acquiring the room we needed for a studio,” he said, “we’d also be putting the newspaper downtown where it should be.”
So a deal was struck with the building’s new owner, local businessman Mike Gunter, and the process of turning a former lodge hall into a combination newspaper office and multimedia studio began. Though some of the remodeling is still a work in progress, the Tribune relocated in January.
“I’m very glad Scott shared my vision for the newspaper to be downtown,” Gunter said. “I think it’s perfect having the newspaper overlooking the heart of our city.”
The roots of the historic structure go back to 1939, when Georgiana Davis Lodge No. 338 purchased the lot at what is now 192 Main St. for $400. A down payment of $140 was made, with a mortgage for the balance held by local businessman T.E. Glenn.
After the final payment was made in June 1944, lodge members began making plans to put a building on the site. Construction began in 1947. Lodge member L.P. Tucker was appointed to oversee the project with members and contractors providing the rest of the work.
Financing was provided by the sale of 180 bonds for $100 each secured by a mortgage held by First National Bank of Birmingham (later, AmSouth Bank). Some members also made cash contributions to the building fund.
The first meeting in the new lodge hall was a quarterly meeting of the Pinson Division of the Jefferson County Masonic Conference on Aug. 21, 1948. Two days later, the Georgiana Davis Lodge held its first meeting there and continued to meet there for the next 40-plus years.
According to the building’s previous owner, Rick McDowell, his former boss, Jimmy Walker (the original owner of Total Printing), purchased the building from Georgiana Davis Lodge in the early 1990s. Walker later sold the business, building and all, to Jerry Higdon.
“In 2001, I bought the business from Jerry and a few years later, I bought the building,” McDowell said.
Total Printing remained in the two-story building’s street level space for two decades, but a number of other businesses preceded it. While the upper floor was reserved for lodge meetings as long as the Masons owned the building, the lower floor was rented out. Members of the “Trussville, Alabama – The Good Ol’ Days” group on Facebook recall the space being occupied at different times over the years by a restaurant, a grocery store, a florist, an antique shop, a dress shop and a branch of the U.S. Post Office, among others.
“For most of its existence, this building has played an active role in the life of downtown Trussville, and we’re happy to be a part of continuing that tradition,” Buttram said. “Trussville is a special place, and keeping our downtown alive and growing is an important part of our city’s future. It’s my hope that other businesses will join the effort.”
The Trussville Tribune currently shares space with Cross Digital and Principle Portrait Group. A formerly home-based embroidery business called Birds on a Fence recently set up shop on the ground floor.