April 13th: Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library Celebrates Its 50th

by Christopher Hodapp

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library in Lexington, Massachusetts is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. If you've never visited, make the effort. It's one of the top Masonic museums in the U.S.

The Museum & Library first opened as the 'Museum of Our National Heritage' in 1975 to correspond with the American Bicentennial, on the 200th anniversary of the battles at Lexington and Concord. It was envisioned by then-Sovereign Grand  Commander George A. Newbury as an institution that could unite people after the divisive social upheavals of the 1960s, to help "build a better and more noble United States of America." 

Located next to the Scottish Rite NMJ's headquarters in Lexington, the museum started out with a small collection of souvenirs, historic Masonic objects, along with Civil War drawings, American portraits, decorative arts, and quilts loaned to them by other institutions. It also included the Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives with more than 5,000 volumes and archives related to Scottish Rite Freemasonry. 

Since its beginning, the museum and library have worked to fulfill Newbury's vision of telling "the story of America" through programs, publications, exhibitions, and collections. Stories related to historic Lexington, Massachusetts, where the "shot heard 'round the world' was fired, kicking off the American Revolution, are frequently featured at the museum, to this day. But while the early museum concentrated on the patriotic telling of the American story, in recent decades the concentration has been more on presenting the history, artifacts and ephemera of Freemasonry and American fraternalism in general. No longer forced to rely on borrowed items from other museums, their own collection has become one of the best Masonic-related museums in the country.

On Sunday, April 13th there will be a rededication of the Museum, along with the opening of new exhibits and the kickoff of a year of special programming:

• "Looking Back, Moving Forward." For 50 years the museum and library has sought to fulfill Newbury’s vision “to tell a thrilling story—the story of America” through programs, publications, exhibitions, and collections. This exhibition explores how the museum and library’s collection has grown, changed, and helped tell this story over half a century.
• “Remembering the Battle of Bunker Hill.” This display memorializes the battle with a scale model of a 1794 Bunker memorial to Joseph Warren, souvenirs from the battle’s 1875 centenary, sheet music, and items related to the Bunker Hill Monument Masonic cornerstone laying ceremony in 1825.
• “Protest & Promise: The American Revolution in Lexington” will explore the events of April 19, 1775 with images, objects, and an in-depth look at this pivotal event and how it has been remembered.

The museum is located at 33 Marrett Road in Lexington, Massachusetts. Click here for more information about the museum, its April 13 events, and the exhibits.