George Washington Made A Mason 271 Years Ago Today

by Christopher Hodapp

A post on the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Facebook page reminds us that Sunday is the 271st anniversary of George Washington's initiation or "making" as a Freemason. 

George was made an Entered Apprentice Mason at the age of twenty in the Lodge at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on November 4, 1752. (There's some confusion over whether he was 20 or 21, because at this moment in time, the American colonies were just shifting over to using the Gregorian calendar.) He was passed to the Degree of Fellowcraft on March 3, 1753, and raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason on August 4, 1753. Soon after, Bro. Washington departed for the frontier on a surveying expedition. But he remained a member of Fredericksburg Lodge until his death on December 14, 1799.

The Bible upon which he took his Masonic obligations is still preserved and maintained by Fredericksburg Lodge 4 in Virginia. 

(Back in 2018, we were honored to have the Bible with us at the Masonic Library & Museum of Indiana for the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Grand Lodge of Indiana, and the Conference of Grand Masters in Indianapolis that same year. Fredericksburg keeps it locked in its traveling display case, presumably so it won't burst into flames when guys like me try to touch it.)

By the way, for those who fret about Masonic lodge dues these days being too cheap or too expensive, young George paid £2, 3 shillings, which would be approximately $488 today. Just a point of reference.

There have been stacks of books and articles written about George Washington and Freemasonry ever since his demise. Most have been well-intentioned, but so much has been wishful thinking, pure supposition, or downright fantasy. I touch on this in my own book, Solomon's Builders. But for the very last word in George Washington reference works concerning Freemasonry, let me recommend Mark Tabbert's recent work, A Deserving Brother, which documents every single Masonic meeting and event he provably attended, every known Masonic relic that he either owned or handled, and every known document he responded to regarding the fraternity.