| George W. Braxdell | |
| Birth Date: | July 4, 1839 |
| Birth Place: | Danville, Kentucky |
| Death Date: | March 8, 1891 |
| Death Place: | Talladega, Alabama |
| Known For: | Alabama State Representative during Reconstruction and First Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Alabama, Prince Hall |
George W. Braxdell or Braxdall (July 4, 1839-March 8, 1891) was an African American barber, judge, and Prince Hall Freemason who served in the Alabama state legislature during the Reconstruction era.[1]
Braxdall was born on July 4, 1839 in Danville, Kentucky.[2] At an unknown date, Braxdall moved to Talladega, Alabama and worked as a barber.
Braxdall was heavily involved in his community and in politics. He became a justice of the peace in Talladega, Alabama on September 4, 1868.[3] He was the first African-American law enforcement officer in Alabama. He served in the Alabama House of Representatives in 1870.[4]
Braxdell was a Prince Hall Freemason, initiated in an unknown lodge in 1875 before later becoming a member of Mt. Moriah Lodge, No. 12. When two independent Grand Lodge of Alabama merged in 1878, Braxdall became the First Grand Master, serving eight terms from 1878 to 1886.[5] [6] [7]
Braxdall died on March 8, 1891 at the age of 51 and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Talladega, Alabama.[8]
He was elected to the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Alabama Hall of Fame in 2015.[9]
George W. Braxdall Lodge, No. 28, in Decatur, Alabama, was named after him when the lodge was established in 1903. The Lodge Hall was placed on the Alabama's Places in Peril by the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation.[10]