Improved Order of Red Men. Tohickon Tribe No. 386 (Green Lane, Pa.).

The Improved Order of Red Men (IORM) is considered by some to be the oldest patriotic fraternal organization in the United States, with roots tracing back to the "Sons of Liberty" and the Boston Tea Party. For most of its existence, the group was primarily a beneficial aid society that paid out death and sick benefits to the family of members. It is also a social, patriotic, and political fraternity with elaborate secret rituals. The local organizations are called tribes, and IORM's governmental structure, rituals, ritual costumes, and language are based on a stylized interpretation of Native American culture. Ironically, Native Americans were barred from membership for most of the organization's history.

In 1813, the Society of Red Men was formed when members of Sons of Liberty and several other fraternal organizations merged. The name was changed to the Improved Order of Red Men in Baltimore in 1834, and the national organization--the Grand Council of the United States--was formed in 1847. Within 30 years, there were over 150,000 members of the IORM belonging to 21 State Great Councils. By the mid 1920s, membership was over 500,000 individuals in 46 states and territories. At that point, the popularity of the group began to decline. The advent of Social Security and other social support programs during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency diminished the need for IORM's beneficial aid function, which was eventually phased out. The Improved Order of Red Men still exists as a national organization as of 2012, but is mostly focused on philanthropic and patriotic activities. The national charity project of the Improved Order of Red Men is Alzheimer's research: since 1991, IORM has given over two million dollars to the Alzheimer's Association.

The Degree of Pocahontas is the Women's Auxiliary of the Improved Order of Red Men. It was organized in 1885. Men can be members of Degree of Pocahontas tribes, but women cannot belong to the Improved Order of Red Men.

A tribe of the Independent Order of Red Men was organized in Green Lane, Pennsylvania in 1899. Tohickon Tribe #386 began construction on a meeting space, Redmen's Hall, in 1907. In addition to serving as a home location for tribe meetings, the Tohickon Tribe also rented out the hall as an income source: IORM booked traveling minstrel shows and allowed the space to be used by the local school district for elementary school graduation ceremonies. At the turn of the century, the leadership of Tohickon Tribe was Green Lane's upper-middle class: the president of the Schwenksville Bank, local doctors and lawyers, country school teachers, and successful farmers were all involved. Membership was 95 percent Pennsylvania German and exclusively male. Women (and a few men) belonged to the affiliate Degree of Pocahontas group, Macoby Tribe No. 269. By the second half of the 20th century, the group's membership was dwindling. In 1971, the few remaining members of the Tohickon Tribe disbanded and sold Redmen's Hall to the Goschenhoppen Historians.

Bibliography:

Goschenhoppen Historians. Fact sheet on Redmen's Hall, undated.

Herbert, Keith. "Red Men's Legacy Hall, Group's Artifacts Are In Historians' Hands." The Morning Call, November 14, 1996. Accessed May 30, 2012. http://articles.mcall.com/1996-11-14/news/3118817_1_camp-fire-upper-perkiomen-valley-ritual

The Improved Order of Red Men. "Information." Access May 30, 2012. http://redmen.org/redmen/info/.

From the guide to the Improved Order of Red Men, Tohickon Tribe No. 386 (Green Lane, Pa.) records, 1898-1963, (Goschenhoppen Historians, Inc.)