The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is a fraternal order founded in Baltimore in the early 20th century as an American offshoot of a similarly-named British organization. It was a non-sectarian and non-political order which focused on charitable work and social development. In 1851 it became the first fraternal order in the US to accept women when Schuyler Colfax of Indiana formed the Daughters of Rebekah. At its peak during the golden era of fraternal orders in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Odd Fellows were the largest such order in the US, surpassing even the Free Masons. A..O. Fulkerson’s 1915 history of Daviess County lists Odd Fellows installations in Washington, Odon, Plainville, Elnora, Montgomery, and other places.
