History 

The Scottish Rite Temple on Main St stands on the site of an old cemetery. Although the cemetery was moved in 1860, some bodies still remain buried under the temple.

In 1863 a house was built on the corner of 1st and Main St for George A. Reynolds, a mayor of Fort Scott.  In 1866 it became the residence of Joseph Ray, the first mayor of Fort Scott who lived there until he died in 1869.

Joseph Ray (left) arrived in Fort Scott in 1857 and was elected mayor for two years on April 18th, 1859. As such on September 10th, 1860 he purchased the town-site of Fort Scott from the United States incorporating it as a city. In 1865 aged 38 he is a merchant living at Col. H.T. Wilson’s house on the old fort grounds.  By 1866 he is married to Virginia (Jennie) T. Wilson, eldest daughter of Col. H.T. Wilson and the first white child born in Fort Scott. Joe Ray dies in 1869 age 42 with no offspring. His widow Virginia marries William Robinson (Grocer) in 1870.

In 1884 the Huntington House Hotel was constructed on the site, though this was later bought by the Scottish Rite Masonic Order in 1900 to use as their temple. 

The hotel was demolished in 1923 to make room for a new temple (right), which extended south on Main St from the corner of First St.  In the 1940’s the Western Insurance Company acquired ownership of the corner building, remodeling it in 1947.