Members of an Eastern history class have researched and documented the history of the Free Masons as a focus for their course.

The History 4930: Public History Meaning & Methods will have their display from Wednesday to Jan. 18 in Booth Library.

Debra Reid, a history professor, said the project is meant to help give the students an idea of what they will do if they go in to the field of history or graduate school.

Reid said the project will also show students how the research is translated into something the public will find interesting.

Reid also said the idea to do an exhibit on the Free Masons came from another member of the faculty.

“The Masons are celebrating their 300th anniversary in 2017, and so we thought five years ahead of the 300th anniversary. We could start a project, a research project that could involve students in history,” Ried said.

The students interviewed members of the Free Masons, made the panels for the display and planned the organization of the exhibit.

Alex Hamilton, a senior history major, said he was excited about working on the project.

“I did an interview with a former Grandmaster of Illinois,” Hamilton said. “I also wrote a paper on the charitable works of the Free Masons in Illinois.”

Hamilton said the project focuses on the organization, what they are and what they have done.

“It focuses on the history and symbolism of the Free Masons, and we focus on Free Masonry in central Illinois,” Hamilton said.

Reid said the Free Masons formed in Illinois in 1830.

She said the exhibit will be broken up into different sections, with notable people from the Free Masons, history, symbols, myths and facts.

“Hopefully, the students who see the exhibit have a new look on Free Masonry, instead of just the look they would know from ‘National Treasure’ or something like that,” Hamilton said.

He said every person in the class has done something different for the exhibit, from finding pictures to finding artifacts.

Reid said the exhibit is the main goal of the class.

“The students have done a lot this semester,” Reid said. “They started knowing basically nothing about the Masons.”

Hamilton said the Free Masons are a present society in the state.

“The goal of our exhibit is to show people how much Free Masons impact people’s lives and the good they do out there,” Hamilton said.

Samantha McDaniel can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].