Speaking of festive boards (see yesterday's post), Masons in, or near, or within traveling distance of New York City this coming Saturday July 14th (Bastille Day!) have the opportunity to attend a truly momentous event.
The theme of the symposium is the stories and legends of the people, events, degree systems and rituals that were active during the European Age of Enlightenment (1650’s to 1820’s). From 1717 onward Speculative Masonry evolved into a multi-degree ritual system. What happened next influenced the development of many masonic degree systems and are important Legends of the Craft.
The Symposium features four lecturers of great renown in the Masonic cosmos:
The evening festive board will feature a special dinner ritual modified from one in use during the Age of Enlightenment. During the ritual, each guest lecturer will be humorously “asked” to favor the assembled Brethren with a few legends and earned lessons from their journeys, to prove they are indeed lecturers.
Organizers promise, "The dinner will be a summertime feast, with an independence day theme and we will consume copious amounts of Tea Party Punch a revolutionary version of the 18th century Dickens."
Check in begins at 11AM, and the Symposium begins at Noon. Dinner begins at 5PM.
Tickets are $55 + $4.09 processing fee; or $85 which includes Tracing Coin and Pin set ($50 value)
Plenty of U.S. Freemasons encounter the terms 'table lodge' and 'festive board,' but it's disheartening just how few have ever experienced such an event in their own lodges. If you are just such a Brother, set aside about an hour and give a listen to the most recent X-Oriente podcast Episode No. 107: The Table Proceeding. Eric and Jason speak with my friend MW Joseph Crociata, Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Washington, D.C. And if anybody in the U.S. knows how to organize and carry off a successful Festive Board, it's Joe.
In 2004, a group of Masons under the imprimatur of the Knights of the North wrote the following in our paper Laudable Pursuit:
"In 1717, one of the reasons given for forming the Mother Grand Lodge in London was to hold the Annual Feast. Not a dinner, but a feast. The Festive Board is an event of celebration, a special occasion for brethren to meet, gather over good food in pleasant surroundings. The ceremonial toasts that were developed by our forefathers were meant to be an outpouring of emotion and brotherhood, not poorly read in a stilted table lodge ceremony. The time is now to bring the Festive Board back to our fraternity. Hold it at a restaurant in a private room away from the lodge. Invite members from other lodges, and make it a true celebration of brotherhood and conviviality. Have an ENTERTAINING guest speaker on a Masonic or other subject. Unlike a table lodge, there is no ritual, other than perhaps celebrating the ceremonial toasts."
As much as we wanted to take credit for it, we weren't espousing anything especially new, original, or radical at the time. In fact, we were trodding well-worn territory other bored or frustrated Masons had resurrected at various times before to invigorate their lodges, and that others were approaching similarly around that exact same moment (like Pete Normand's St. Alban's Lodge 1455 in Texas, or Lodge Epicurean in Australia, or the founders of the Masonic Restoration Foundation).
Twenty-five years before us, another such Brother had been John Mauk Hilliard, then an enthusiastic twenty-something New York Mason who brought the Festive Board alive with great panache back in the 1970s at Independent Royal Arch Lodge No. 2. The traditions he promoted back then continue there to this day.
Back in 1948, H. L. Haywood had written in More About Masonry,
"In the Eighteenth Century Lodges the Feast bulked so large in the lodge that in many of them the members were seated at the table when the lodges were opened and remained at it throughout the Communication, even when the degrees were conferred. The result was that Masonic fellowship was good fellowship in it, as in a warm and fruitful soil,acquaintanceship, friendship, and affection could flourish - there was no grim and silent sitting on a bench, staring across at a wall. Out of this festal spirit flowered the love which Masons had for their lodge. They brought gifts to it, and only by reading of old inventories can any present day Mason measure the extent of that love; there were gifts of chairs, tables, altars, pedestals, tapestries, draperies, silver, candle-sticks, oil paintings, libraries, Bibles, mementos, curios, regalia’s and portraits. The lodge was a home, warm, comfortable, luxurious, full of memories, and tokens, and affection, and even if a member died his, presence was never wholly absent; to such a lodge no member went grudgingly, nor had to be coaxed, nor was moved by that ghastly, cold thing called a sense of duty, but went as if drawn by a magnet, and counted the days until he could go.
"What business has any lodge to be nothing but a machine for grinding out the work: It was not called into existence in order to have the minutes read: Even a mystic tie will snap under the strain of cheerlessness, repetition, monotony, dullness. A lodge needs a fire lighted in it, and the only way to have that warmth is to restore the lodge Feast, because when it is restored, good fellowship and brotherly love will follow, and where good fellowship is, members will fill up an empty room not only with themselves but also with their gifts."
When my own Mother lodge was struggling on the ropes with dull meetings and low turnout, we made a decision for three years to move our stated meetings out of the lodge room and into the dining room, held as a Table Lodge instead. The lodge room was reserved for degrees and special occasions, but the usually dull as dishwater business meeting became secondary to the conviviality of our dinners. The result of that change was that we were attracting more and more visitors curious about our format who wound up enjoying themselves so much that they affiliated or transferred membership to us.
Going to lodge shouldn't be something your members come to dread. Moreover, holding table lodges and festive boards isn't nuclear science — any lodge can incorporate these events into its practices. Moreover, if you attend enough of these types of events, you will find that some of the most memorable episodes of your Masonic life occur in the festive setting of breaking bread and toasting with your brethren.
Give the show a listen. Then, propose a festive board at your next stated meeting.
Even the office of Grand Master of Masons is not immune to modern-day internet hackers. I am sending this notification to make you aware that a currently anonymous scammer has created a bogus Facebook account in my name and is attempting to swindle you out of your money in the name of providing Masonic Relief to a fellow Mason. For those of you using Facebook, you know that social media network is fraught with scammers; many of you have had your accounts “hacked” over the years. Last week someone hacked mine and began sending messages and attempting to “friend” various people, including brother Masons. They went on to create a bogus Facebook profile that shows my Grand Master portrait and my 2018 Grand Lodge Officers. DO NOT accept a request or otherwise communicate with this account, which appears to be coming from me. It is not. Thanks to vigilant brothers, I was made aware of this scam. The scammer had reached out beyond my own Facebook friends list, so even if you and I are not Facebook friends, they may find you. Someone posing as me reached out to brother Masons and asked for assistance setting up a PayPal account to solicit funds for a needy brother from “Sunny Slope Lodge No. 124,” a lodge that doesn’t exist in Nebraska. I hope none of you were victimized by this person; if you were, contact Facebook to report it. If you hear of this occurring in other Masonic Grand Jurisdictions, please let me know. I suspect the scammers are taking advantage of the goodwill of Masons everywhere.
No Grand Master should ever reach out to you asking personally for funds in this manner. If you receive such a request, report it to Facebook immediately and inform the Grand Lodge of Nebraska at (402) 475-4640.
Alice and I are going to be traveling extensively around the country starting in July 2018, and I need everyone's help. We've got the new Airstream trailer. The Suburban ('The Red Scare') is filling up with stuff we probably won't need. And the poodle has his own special backseat perch. We've even joined both the Wally Byam Airstream Club (#3765) AND the National Camping Travelers (#22322) – the trailer and RV club created in 1966 by and for Masonic campers.
I've been working with Oklahoma Brother Daniel Hanttula in assembling a list of the top Masonic must-see sights to visit in every state of the U.S. and Canadian Province. Daniel is the author of the The Masonic Tour Guide book series (Volume 2 was just published in January 2018), and I am going to work with him in expanding this list of Masonic related places to see. His two books are extremely helpful, but they need more locations and events. That's where your assistance comes in. Daniel and I are both looking for the oldest, the coolest, the biggest, the tiniest, most historical, most significant, and the most unique Masonic buildings, locations and other Masonic-related landmarks in YOUR state or Province. It can be Craft Lodge related, or the appendant bodies. It can be historical sites, or almost any physical location peculiar to your particular state or province having to do with Freemasonry. In addition, Daniel's books also list distinctive settings in which degrees are conferred, various unique Masonic degree teams (like the Oklahoma Indian MM Team, Indiana's Levant Preceptory, and New Jersey's Kilties), unusual side degrees, special Masonic time capsules, cemeteries, and extraordinary opportunities for Masonic affiliation. I am slowly adding these to my own list below to make it more comprehensive, and if I can find it, I will add a link to pertinent websites or Facebook pages. Bear in mind that this isn't to promote one-time events like upcoming special degrees or time-specific conferences or gatherings. To be truly useful and comprehensive, the list needs to be timeless. Only send recurring events (i.e. Masonic Week, Masonic Con, etc) Please send your suggestions to me directly to hodapp@aol.comor add them as a comment to this page below using the comment form (Google has messed with log in credentials and makes it harder to comment on this blog in the last few months, so feel free to email me). Put "Masonic Sightseeing" in your subject line so I can spot it. This is an ongoing project, so please don't send angry "How could you forget about...??!!!" messages. I'm adding to it slowly every day now as I work my way through 2,500 old posts and references. Be sure to check your state on the list below because I may have already included it. And please pass along any Masonic sites I have missed or shoud include from your state or Canadian province. Meanwhile, be sure to follow Daniel's The Masonic Tour Guide Facebook page HERE.
UNITED STATES MASONIC SIGHTSEEING
Alabama
•Huntsville - Helion Lodge No. 1, first and oldest lodge in Alabama (descended through Madison Lodge No. 21 chartered by Kentucky in 1811). Eunomia Hall built 1911.
•Phoenix - Phoenix Masonic Temple (b. 1925) - home of Phoenix Lodge No. 2, recently refurbished, with beautiful murals throughout (4th and Monroe) •Tucson - Tuscon Scottish Rite Cathedral, b. 1915-16 (160 S. Scott Avenue)
•Hornitos - Hornitos Lodge No. 98 (chartered originally as Quartzburg No. 98 in 1856) - smallest lodge room in California: 17'-6" x 29'-6 (built 1855; used continuously as Masonic lodge since 1875)
•Los Angeles
Former Scottish Rite Center, now Museum (Wilshire Avenue)
Jimmy Kimmel studio former Hollywood Lodge (Hollywood Boulevard)
•Denver Lodge No. 5 - Colorado's oldest chartered lodge (1859). Meets in beautiful Denver Masonic Hall (b. 1889) at 16th and Welton Streets. Red sandstone exterior building was gutted by fire in 1984, and completely rebuilt inside. • Nevada Lodge No. 4 (established in 1861) is located in the ghost town of Nevadaville, Colorado. They have preserved their original lodge room, right down to the wallpaper. They meet monthly for stated meetings. For visiting information, see their website.
•Denver Airport - the conspiracy lovers' dream. Masonic dedication marker and time capsule in main passenger terminal, creepy murals (by artist Leo Tanguma), swastika runways, underground tunnels, 'alien' vocabulary embedded in the floor, Satanic blue horse sculpture - it's all there, and more. •Fairplay - Lodge Room Over Simpkin's Store (South Park City Historical Site, 100 4th Street, Fairplay, CO) •Leadville - Corinthian Lodge No. 35 (b.1910; chartered 1882), highest altitude active US lodge (10,152 ft). •Pike's Peak Cryptic Masonic Monument
Connecticut
•Moosup - Quarry Rite hosted by Moosup Lodge No. 113 (annual, near either the Summer solstice or the Autumnal equinox) •Woodbury - King Solomon's Lodge No. 7 (chartered 1765), Greek-revival on rocky hill, oldest purpose-built Masonic temple in state (b. 1839)
Delaware
District of Columbia
Albert Pike statue (3rd and D Streets, NW) - NOTE: The Pike statue was toppled and defaced by rioters in the summer of 2020. Removed by the Parks Department. Its current status is unknown.
Former Grand Lodge of DC building 1870-1909 (901 F. Street NW)
Former Grand Lodge of DC building 1909-1970s (now Natl. Museum for Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Avenue NW)
Current Grand Lodge of DC offices and Museum (5428 McArthur Blvd NW)
Scottish Rite Supreme Council SJ House of the Temple (1733 16th Street NW)
MW Prince Hall Grand Lodge of DC (1000 U Street NW)
Belmont House, headquarters of General Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star (1618 New Hampshire Avenue, NW)
Washington National Cathedral (Episcopal Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington) - George Washington statue in northwest corner sculpted by Lee Lawrie (1947) erected by Scottish Rite SJ (3101 Wisconsin Ave NW)
Florida
•Apopka - Orange Lodge No.36 (chartered 1856) is the oldest Masonic Lodge building in continuous use in Florida (b. 1859). Lodge operates on a Lunar Lodge schedule nearest the Full and New Moon phases each month. (453 East Main Street (441)) •Fort Clinch - During the Civil War, Confederate forces seized the fort on the border with Georgia in early 1861, and Master Masons from both sides met and held meetings inside, according to fort records. Each fall, Amelia Lodge No. 47 of Fernandina, Florida confers a MM degree outdoors on the grounds of historic Fort Clinch, with officers in both Union and Confederate uniforms. (Lodge located at 1101 South 14th Street, Fernandina)
•Mt. Dora - Donnelly House (b. 1893), an historic mansion that is classic gingerbread style, owned by Mount Dora Lodge No. 238 is one of only two examples of this type of Queen Anne architecture left in Florida. Appears on city's official seal.
Georgia
•Atlanta
Auburn Avenue Prince Hall Masonic Temple
•Macon - Masonic Home of Georgia has largest square and compass display in the world (88ft h x 78ft w), dedicated 2014.
•Savannah
Solomon's Lodge No. 1 (former Cotten Exchange building b.1841), the oldest continuously operating English constituted lodge in the western hemisphere.
Scottish Rite Masonic Center , Unique and beautiful multi-story temple on a downtown corner lot that combines Greek Revival with turn of the century flourishes. Built between 1913-1923. Located at 341 Bull Street.
•Sunbury - Historical marker denoting the first meeting of Freemasons in Georgia on February 21, 1734 under the Sunbury 'Masonic' Oak Tree. Marker is near the entrance to Fort Morris Park, off Fort Morris Road. CLICK for map Led to the founding of "The Lodge at Savannah in ye province of Georgia" now known as Solomon's Lodge No. 1, F. & A.M. •Tybee Island - Tybee Lite Shrine Club is located in a former gun battery of the historic 1808 Fort Screven at 1 Meddin Avenue. Constructed originally out of poured concrete, what it lacks in external charm it makes up for in its unique surroundings and history.
Hawaii
•Iolani Palace (364 S. King Street, Honolulu)
Idaho
Illinois
•Bloomingdale - Scottish Rite Valley of Chicago, stunning modern Masonic center in Chicago suburb (383 E. Lake Street Bloomingdale, IL)
•Adam's Mill, contains lodge room used by former Wild Cat Lodge 1853; currently being restored as historic Masonic display. •Connersville - historic Elmhurst Estate (c. 1831), now Warren Lodge No. 15 since 1941. Former home of Caleb B. Smith. •Indianapolis
Indianapolis Masonic Temple (b. 1909) - four Craft lodge rooms; Chapter/Council room; Templar Asylum (home of Raper Commandery No. 1); Egyptian themed Red Cross room; large auditorium; Grand Lodge offices (525 N. Illinois Street).
Prince Hall Masonic Temple (former Oriental Lodge No. 500, 2201 N. Central Avenue)
'George Washington As A Master Mason' statue by Frank De Lue on south lawn of Indiana State House (Capital Ave. and W. Washington St.)
•Madison - Schofield House, birthplace in 1818 of Grand Lodge of Indiana •Muncie - Cornerstone Center for the Arts, former Muncie Masonic Temple, b.1920-26. Lodge rooms feature magnificent Biblical murals painted by famed artist Gustav A. Brand. Claimed as the largest York Rite Temple in the world. (520 E. Main Street)
•New Albany - Annual Crypt Rededication (Late July, New Albany Masonic Temple, 805 E. Market St) •Vincennes - Vincennes Lodge No. 1 - oldest chartered lodge in Indiana territory (1807); Temple (b. 1916) features unique paper-mâché maze created for conferring Knights Templar 'Order of the Temple.' (501 Broadway)
•Des Moines - Des Moines Masonic Temple, b. 1913. (1011 Locust St)
•Des Moines Scottish Rite Consistory, b. 1926-27 (6th Ave. and Park St.)
Kansas
Kentucky
•LaGrange - Rob Morris Home (built c. 1840); Masonic author, lecturer, PGM of Kentucky, founder of the 'Conservators Movement' and the Order of the Eastern Star, and 'Poet Laureate of Freemasonry.' Owned since 1919 by the Kentucky Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star (102 Washington Street) •Lexington - Lexington Lodge No. 1
Louisiana
•New Orleans
Etoile Polaire Lodge No. 1 - arguably the oldest chartered lodge in Louisiana (1794), works French-derived Scottish Rite Craft degree rituals, sometimes referred to as "red lodge degrees" (1433 N. Rampart Street)
Hilton St. Charles Hotel - former Grand Lodge and Masonic Temple building (b. 1926, sold 1992; 333 St. Charles Avenue)
Germania Lodge No. 46 (chartered 1844), also works Scottish Rite Craft rituals, one of ten permitted to do so in Louisiana. (4415 Bienville Street)
Nolaluna Theater - former Scottish Rite Consistory Building (b. 1853; 619 Carondelet Street)
• Kennebunkport - Arundel Lodge No. 76 In 1930, Brother Lewis Norton painted a continuous mural all the way around the lodge room that depicts the various ages of the Earth in an impressionistic style. The result is positively stunning.
•Bunker Hill Monument (King Solomon's lodge display)
•Lexington - Scottish Rite NMJ Masonic Museum and Library (33 Marrett Road) •Westford - The Westford Knight (or Sinclair Rock), dubiously claimed to be a pre-Revolutionary War roadside carving of a Knight Templar (or medieval knight) and sword, first identified as such in 1954. •Worcester - Masonic Temple (b.1913-14), home of Morning Star Lodge, includes Egyptian-themed room.
Michigan
•Detroit Masonic Temple, largest Masonic building in the world (500 Temple Avenue, Detroit)
Minnesota
•Bloomington - Masonic Heritage Center, b. 2016; newly opened on the grounds of the Masonic Home; museum; library; theater; lodge rooms (11411 Masonic Home Dr,) •Pipestone - Pipestone Masonic Temple, quartzite building originally built in 1898 as Ferris Opera House; Masonic temple since 1916. Beautiful lodge room features unique Old Testament murals painted by Austrian artist Leo Henke in 1918 (106 E. Main Street).
Mississippi
Missouri
•Grand Lodge of Missouri Museum (Columbia, MO) •Bonne Terre Mine Degree, organized by Samaritan Lodge No. 424 (39 N. Allen Street, Bonne Terre, MO) •Lexington - Replica of Masonic College (1848-57) classroom and building in College Park (at corner of State and 16th Streets). •Ste. Genevieve - Green Tree Tavern (b. 1790), log tavern and location of the first Masonic Lodge west of the Mississippi River, Louisiana Lodge No. 109 (chartered by GL of Pennsylvania in 1807; defunct).
•St. Louis - The imposing and incongruously named New Masonic Temple at 3681 Lindell Boulevard (b. 1925), now sold to non-Masons) is magnificent, and remains one of the greatest Masonic buildings ever constructed. Temple is closed by new developer, no Masonic presence today. See also St. Louis Scottish Rite Consistory one block down.
•Bellevue - Olde Towne in Washington Park, site of Peter Sarpy's Trading Post, where first Masonic lodge was established in Nebraska - Nebraska Lodge No. 1, chartered 1855 (at corner of East 19th Avenue and Franklin Street). In 1955, Bellevue Lodge No. 325 was chartered and meets across the street from Washington Park at 1908 Franklin Street.
•Virginia City - Escurial Lodge No. 7, chartered 1864. Upper lodge room is a copy of the 1863 original.
New Hampshire
•Portsmouth
William Pitt Tavern (b. 1766 as the Earl of Halifax Tavern); third floor added as meeting space for St. John's Lodge No. 1 (orig. chartered 1736 by premiere GL of England). Historic site of formation by five lodges of the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire in 1789. Contains period recreation lodge room and Masonic Museum. William Pitt Tavern Lodge No. 1789 was chartered in 1983 as a special purpose lodge to raise funds necessary to restore and maintain the tavern (416 Court Street).
James E. Whalley Masonic Museum and Library at Portsmouth Masonic Temple (351 Middle Street)
New Jersey
•Bridgeton - Brearley Lodge No. 2 (chartered 1791 as No. 9), oldest continuously used lodge building in the state, b. 1797. (59 Bank Street)
New Mexico
•Lincoln - It was here on April 28, 1881 that Billy the Kid famously escaped from jail after killing J.W. Bell and Bob Olinger, the two Deputies tasked with guarding him. The Old Lincoln County Courthouse (1870) has a replica Masonic lodge open to the public, and Bell was murdered in the stairwell outside of the lodge. The Grand Lodge of New Mexico holds session in the room once per year •Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple(463 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe)
New York
•Albany - Albany Masonic Temple (b. 1895-96) sits on property that has belonged to Masons continuously since 1768 - longest in America. Both Presidents Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt were members here. Home to five lodges, York Rite, and Scottish Rite bodies. Stunning interior; huge hand-carved throne; stained glass windows. (67 Corning Place). •Jonestown - St. Patrick's Lodge No. 4 (chartered 1766); one of oldest lodges in New York, still possesses its original English charter, and officers still wear their original 1766 jewels. They have their complete set of minutes for every meeting held from its inception in 1766 to the present time. •New York City
Fraunces Tavern, 54 Pearl Street (c.1719; opened as inn 1762 by Samuel Fraunces, proprietor of the Free Mason Arms; rebuilt 1904) - oldest standing building in New York City, site of early Masonic gatherings and Washington's famous farewell to his troops. Samuel Fraunces was described as a "West Indian Negro and steward to George Washington"; member of Holland Lodge No. 8.
Brooklyn (former) Masonic Temple (b. 1907-09) - landmark Masonic building that set the stage for imitators across the country for two decades. Now home to numerous clandestine groups (Clermont and Lafayette Avenues in Fort Greene, Brooklyn).
1964 World's Fair Pavilion surviving square and compass
North Carolina
•Asheville - Asheville Masonic Temple (b. 1915) was built for Mount Hermon Lodge No. 118 (chartered in 1848 but operating under dispensation from 1828), York Rite and Scottish Rite bodies. •Great Smoky Mountains National Park at Black Camp Gap - North Carolina Masonic Marker •Great Smokies Summer AssemblyakaMaggie Valley York Rite Festival- annually in early July • Halifax - Royal White Hart Lodge No. 2 (chartered 1767). Historic building erected in 1769. •New Bern - St. John's Lodge No. 3 (chartered 1772) has one of the oldest Masonic lodge halls still in use in the US (b. 1801). Its theatre is believed to be the oldest operating in the United States, and was opened in 1804. It is beautifully restored and maintained.
•Elk City - Route 66 Old Town Museum - 2nd floor of attorney's office, "Elk City Lodge No. 182" (2717 W. 3rd Street). This is actually a false storefront upstairs with a sign and a glass door to the 'Masonic lodge' at this roadside attraction. In reality, it is a painting inside the door depicting a lodge without an actual room, and most of the buildings in this roadside cluster have no real interiors. The very real Elk City Lodge is actually in town. •Guthrie - Scottish Rite Cathedral; one of the largest Scottish Rite buildings in the world •McAlester - Scottish Rite Temple (b. 1930); beautiful art-deco reliefs and Egyptian-revival interiors •Tonkawa - Tonkawa Lodge 157 historic Masonic Temple building (c. 1925), on Natl. Register of Historic Places. Beautifully preserved inside.
Oregon
•Crater Lake - Crater Lake outdoor degree (inside National Park), usually first Saturday in August; hosted by Crater Lake Lodge 211 of Klamath Falls.
•Hot Springs - Malheur Cave, 17 miles east of Crane Hot Springs and site of annual cave degree since 1938; owned by Robert Burns Lodge No. 97. Usually late summer, or early fall.
•Portland - Friendship Lodge No. 160 (chartered 1914) - beautifully remodeled temple with balcony and stunning stained glass ceiling (8130 N. Denver Avenue in Portland)
•Newport - Newport Tower, claimed by some to be a Knight Templar structure
South Carolina
•Charleston - Founding of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite in 1801 commemorated by a series of historical plaques at Broad and Church Streets •Walhalla - Stump House Tunnel Masonic Degree, usually in October. Pre-Civil War tunnel, now abandoned.
South Dakota
•Rapid City - Mt. Rushmore Lodge No. 220, chartered 1953 (618 Kansas City St.) •Deadwood - Mount Moriah Cemetery's road names are known to all Masons, and there is an outdoor 'Celestial Lodge' there for visitation and reflection. Cemetery was created in partnership in 1878 between Freemasons and the Jewish community. Also visit Deadwood Lodge No. 7, chartered 1877 (715 Main Street)
Tennessee
•Franklin - Franklin Masonic Hall (b. 1823) oldest Masonic Hall in continuous use in Tennessee; claimed as oldest continually operating Masonic Lodge building in the United States. Hall is the only meeting site between a sitting President and a Native American Nation, President Andrew Jackson having met with a delegation from the Chickasaw Nation in 1826 for a treaty signing. Home of Hiram Lodge No. 7 (chartered 1809) •Kingston - Eblen's Cave Degree, hosted by Union Lodge No. 38 (visiting degree teams from across the US, annually in August)
Texas
•Houston - Scottish Rite Valley of Houston features immersive "holodeck" projection system for degree presentations (2401 W. Bellfort) •La Vernia - Brahan Lodge No. 226 (chartered 1859; lodge hall b. 1869-71) Members included veterans of Texas War for Independence, Mier Expedition, Mexican War, Indian campaigns. Believed to be the oldest continuously-used, purpose built Masonic lodge, church and school building in Texas. Members quarried stone, hauled it to site by ox-cart, completed hall 1871. Beautiful lodge room murals were painted in 1960 by Robert S. Brown, then 75 year old. •San Antonio - Scottish Rite Valley and Masonic plaques at the Alamo
Utah
•Fairfield - Camp Floyd Historic Lodge No. 205, commemorates the first Masonic lodge in the Territory of Utah, March 6, 1859, (chartered as Rocky Mountain No. 205 UD Missouri). Lodge meets annually on the Saturday before Memorial Day, location varies.
District of Columbia foundation stone, dedicated by Masonic ceremony at Jones' Point Park
Annual Easter Observance by Knights Templar
•Arlington (or nearby in Northern Virginia) - Masonic Week (AMD Week), annually in February
•Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4, founded 1752 - George Washington's Mother Lodge and home of the Bible he took his obligations upon (Fredericksburg, VA) •Richmond - Mason's Hall (b. 1785-87), oldest American Masonic lodge building, home of Richmond-Randolph Lodge No. 19. Virginia delegates to the constitutional convention received their instructions there. In the war of 1812 it served as a an army hospital. Union general (a Mason) sacking Richmond posted a guard on the building to prevent it from being burned during Civil,War. (1807 E. Franklin St.) •Williamsburg Lodge No. 6 (1759)
Granite Falls - Masonic Family Park, Annual outdoor MM degree, 1st Saturday of August. The Masonic Park is the property of the Master Masons Club of Snohomish and Island Counties. It consists of 245 acres of beautifully wooded land on rushing Canyon Creek and is located in the foothills of the majestic Cascade Mountains. Campground for private use by Masons only, not open to the public.
West Virginia
Wisconsin
•Cambridge - Social Lodge No. 245 (chartered 1891), smallest lodge room in Wisconsin, approx. 15' x 15' (Cambridge Masonic Center, 105 South Spring Street) •Madison - Grand Masonic Center, new Grand Lodge facilities, lodge room, auditorium, museum and library (36275 Sunset Drive, Dousman, WI) •Milwaukee/Whitefish Bay - Aurora Lodge No. 30, only German language-speaking Masonic lodge left in Wisconsin; works degrees and meetings in German using "modified French Rite" (517 E. Beaumont, Milwaukee)
•New Diggings - Olive Branch Lodge No. 6 (chartered 1897) located in the only dedicated "Masonic cemetery" in Wisconsin. First Masonic Temple in Wisconsin erected in New Diggings built in 1845. Temple was moved in 1950 from the town of New Diggings to the Masonic cemetery (County Highway W, west of of New Diggings). (PLEASE UPDATE THIS INFORMATION)
Wyoming
CANADIAN MASONIC SIGHTSEEING
Alberta
•Kananaskis Springtime Workshop - Delta Lodge at Kananaskis, annual in early April British Columbia •Dawson City, Yukon - Temple of Yukon Lodge No. 45; built in 1903 with a $25,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie with city and territorial assistance, the Carnegie Library on Queen Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues opened in 1904 with over 5,000 books. It was the northernmost Carnegie library ever built. The library moved out in 1920 and the building remained empty until 1934 when it was sold to Yukon Lodge No. 45. Mother lodge of Robert W. Service, Yukon poet.
Manitoba
•U.S./Canadian Border (near Boissevain, Manitoba) - International Peace Garden Lodge
New Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador
Nova Scotia
Ontario
•Hamilton - Scottish Rite Club of Hamilton - unique mansion (b. 1884) that serves as private club for Scottish Rite members. SR Cathedral (b. 1923) adjacent. (4 Queen Street South). •North York - Heritage Lodge No. 730 located within Black Creek Pioneer Village history museum. The 1867 lodge room is furnished with pre-Confederation furnishings and is staffed by volunteer Masonic Interpreters. More than 35 authentically restored homes, workshops, public buildings and farms recreate the atmosphere of life in a rural Victorian community of the 1860s (1000 Murray Ross Pkwy, North York)
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
