Eagle Lodge, founded in 1791, is one of the first Masonic lodges chartered under the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. Members of Eagle Lodge helped lay the cornerstone of Old East at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1793 in a ceremony that marked the birth of public higher education in the United States.
Our 1823 Greek Revival building was designed by state architect William Nichols and built by John Berry, a member of the lodge. The building has served as an opera house, meeting hall, Civil War hospital and observatory for Burwell School students. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.