History of Masonic Grand Lodges in North America

This is a chronology of the formation of "regular" or "mainstream" Masonic Grand Lodges in North America, descending from the original Grand Lodge of England (GLE) or its rival, the Antient Grand Lodge of England. A Grand Lodge (or "Grand Orient" as it is called in some jurisdictions elsewhere in the world) is the governing body that supervises "Craft" Freemasonry (also known as "Blue Lodge" Freemasonry) in a particular jurisdiction or geographical area.

Freemasonry Prior to 1717

Freemasonry (or Speculative Masonry) developed out of the guilds and associations of operative stonemasons, during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. By 1700, numerous Masonic lodges were in existence throughout England, Scotland and Ireland. Each lodge was considered independent unto itself, and there was no supervisory body that governed all of Freemasonry. This led to some confusion, as ritual variations developed and disputes as to the legitimacy of various lodges arose. In 1717 members of four lodges in London elected to form what they called a "Grand Lodge" to supervise the fraternity and grant charters to new lodges. Not all lodges, however, accepted the self-proclaimed authority of this Grand Lodge, and soon formed rival Grand Lodges of their own.

"Original" Grand Lodges formed by "Time Immemorial" Lodges

The following Grand Lodges were formed by pre-existing "Time Immemorial" lodges (lodges that predated the concept of having Grand Lodges to supervise and coordinate the craft, and thus were retained as having existed from "time immemorial").

• Premier Grand Lodge of England - est. June 24, 1717 - (Merged with Ancient Grand Lodge of England, or "The Ancients", to form the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813)^[1]
• Grand Lodge of Ireland - est. June 24, 1725^[2]
• Grand Lodge of Scotland - est. 1736^[3]
• Antient Grand Lodge of England - est. 1751 - (Merged with Premier Grand Lodge of England, or "The Moderns", to form the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813)^[1]

Grand Lodges founded during the Colonial Era

Freemasonry spread from the British Isles during the Colonial Era. All of the "original" Grand Lodges began to issue charters to individual lodges in North America, but the two English Grand Lodges (the "Ancients" and the "Moderns") were the most prolific. Starting in 1730 The Grand Lodge of England (Moderns) began to issue Warrants for Provincial Grand Lodges in the colonies. Initially, these Warrants were issued to individuals, to act as deputies for the Grand Master in a given area for fixed periods of time, and some confusion resulted due to overlapping jurisdictions. To confuse matters further, with the formation of the Antient Grand Lodge, rival Provincial Grand Lodges were chartered under their jurisdiction.

• "Coxe" Provincial Grand Lodge (Moderns) - 1730-1732 - by warrant issued to Daniel Coxe by GLE for two years - (Granted jurisdiction over New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania)^[4]
• Provincial Grand Lodge of New England (Moderns) - Est. 1733 by warrant given to Henry Price. The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts dates itself from the formation of this Provincial Grand Lodge.
• Provincial Grand Lodge of South Carolina - Est. 1736^[5]
• Provincial Grand Lodge of New York (Moderns) - 1738-1780s - Warrants issued by GLE (Moderns) to Francis Goelet (1738–1753), to George Harrison (1753–1771), to Sir John Johnson (from 1771). As Johnson was a Loyalist during the American Revolution, he is believed to have taken his warrant with him when he fled to Canada, thus leaving the Moderns Lodges without a Provincial Grand Master.^[4]
• Provincial Grand Lodge for North America (Scotland) - Est. 1757 - By warrant issued to Colonel John Young.^[6]
• Provincial Grand Lodge of Canada - Est. 1759 (Became PGL of Lower Canada, i.e. Quebec, in 1792)^[7]
• Provincial Grand Lodge for Pennsylvania (Ancients) - Est. 1761 - By Warrant issued to William Ball.^[8]
• Provincial Grand Lodge of New York ("Athol Charter" - Ancients) - 1781-1784 - Although this PGL was Warranted by the "Ancients", the final Provincial Grand Master, Chancellor Robert R. Livingston (PGM: 1784-87), was actually the Master of a Lodge under the Jurisdiction of the Moderns, thus uniting the two branches of English Freemasonry in New York State. Livingston continued in office as the first Grand Master of the independent GL of NY.^[4]
• Provincial Grand Lodge of Upper Canada - Est. 1792^[9]

Independent Grand Lodges

After the American Revolution and, again, after the incorporation of the Dominion of Canada, the various Provincial Grand Lodges in North America were closed, and the Lodges in each State or Province formed independent Grand Lodges. These in turn, chartered lodges in the territories in the West and North. As each new State or Province came into being, the lodges that had been chartered within its borders gathered together and formed new Grand Lodges.

• Grand Lodge of Virginia - Est. 1778^[10]
• Grand Lodge of New York - Est. 1782 (declared itself Independent Grand Lodge on June 6, 1787)^[11]
• Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania - Est. 1786^[12] (Continuation of Prov. G.L. of Penn. See above.)
• Grand Lodge of Georgia - Est. December 16, 1786^[13]
• Grand Lodge of New Jersey - Est. December 18, 1786^[14][15]
• Grand Lodge of Maryland - Est. December 9, 1787^[15][16]
• Grand Lodge of North Carolina - Est. December 9, 1787^[15][17]
• Grand Lodge of South Carolina - Est. 1788 ^[18]
• Grand Lodge of Connecticut - Est. 1789^[19]
• Grand Lodge of Rhode Island - Est. 1791 ^[15][20]
• Grand Lodge of Massachusetts - Est. 1792 (continuation of PGL of New England (see above).
• Grand Lodge of Vermont - Est. 1794^[21]
• Grand Lodge of Kentucky - Est. 1800^[22]
• Grand Lodge of Delaware - Est. 1806^[23]
• Grand Lodge of Ohio - Est. 1808^[24]
• Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia - Est. 1811^[25]
• Grand Lodge of Louisiana - Est. 1812 ^[26]
• Grand Lodge of Tennessee - Est. 1813 ^[27]
• Grand Lodge of Indiana - Est. January 13, 1818^[28]
• Grand Lodge of Mississippi - Est. July 27, 1818^[29]
• Grand Lodge of Maine - Est. 1820^[30]
• Grand Lodge of Missouri - Est. April 21, 1821^[31]
• Grand Lodge of Alabama - Est. June 11, 1821 ^[32][33]
• Grand Lodge of Michigan - Est. 1826 ^[34]
• Grand Lodge of Florida - Est. 1830 ^[15][35]
• Grand Lodge of Texas - Est. 1838^[36]
• Grand Lodge of Illinois- Est. 1840 - previous Grand Lodge in existence: 1822-1827^[37]
• Grand Lodge of Wisconsin - Est. 1843^[38]
• Grand Lodge of Iowa - Est. 1844 ^[39]
• Grand Lodge of California - Est. 1850^[40]
• Grand Lodge of Oregon - Est. 1851^[15][41]
• Grand Lodge of Minnesota - Est. 1853^[42]
• Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario - Est. 1855^[9]
• Grand Lodge of Kansas - Est. 1856^[43]
• Grand Lodge of Nebraska - Est. 1857^[44][45]
• Grand Lodge of Washington State - Est. 1858^[15][46]
• Grand Lodge of Colorado - Est. 1861^[15]
• Grand Lodge of Nevada - Est. January 17, 1865^[47]
• Grand Lodge of West Virginia - Est. April 12, 1865^[15][48]
• Grand Lodge of Montana - Est. January 26, 1866^[15][49]
• Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia - Est. February 20, 1866^[50]
• Grand Lodge of Idaho - Est. December, 17 1867^[15][51]
• Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon - Est. December 24, 1867^[52]
• Grand Lodge of New Brunswick - Est. 1868 ^[53]
• Grand Lodge of Quebec - Est. 1869^[7]
• Grand Lodge of Utah - Est. 1872^[54]
• Grand Lodge of the Indian Territory - Est. Oct. 6, 1874 (Reestablished in 1892 as Grand Lodge of Oklahoma)^[15]
• Grand Lodge of Wyoming - Est. December 15, 1874 ^[55][56]
• Grand Lodge of Manitoba - Est. May 12, 1875^[57]
• Grand Lodge of Prince Edward Island - Est. June 23, 1875^[58]
• Grand Lodge of New Mexico - Est. 1877^[59]
• Grand Lodge of Arizona - Est. 1882^[60][61]
• Grand Lodge of North Dakota - Est. 1889^[62]
• Grand Lodge of Oklahoma - Est. 1892 (Replaced the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory)^[15]
• Grand Lodge of Alberta - Est. 1905^[63]
• Grand Lodge of Saskatchewan - Est. August 9, 1906^[64]
• Grand Lodge of Alaska Est. 1981^[65]
• Grand Lodge of Hawaii Est. 1989^[66]
• Grand Lodge of Newfoundland and Labrador - Est. 1997^[67]

See also

• General list of masonic Grand Lodges
• History of Freemasonry

References

1. The United Grand Lodge of England - Home Page
2. Home Page
3. Grand Masonic Lodge of Scotland
4. Bicentennial Commemorative Volume of Holland Lodge No. 8, published by the Lodge, New York, 1988. pp 9-12
5. Grand Lodge of South Carolina Website
6. Coil, Henry Wilson; "Massachusetts", pg. 412; Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia; publ. 1961, 1996, Richmond Va.
7. Grande Loge du Québec - Grand Lodge of Québec
8. Coil, Henry Wilson; "America, Freemasonry into", pg. 33; Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia"; publ. 1961, 1996, Richmond Va.
9. Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario, Freemasonry, Masonic, Masons
10. Grand Lodge of Virginia AF&AM
11. Welcome! | Grand Lodge F. & A. M. State of New York
12. The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania
13. The Grand Lodge of Georgia F.& A.M
14. Grand Lodge of New Jersey > Official Page
15. Mackey, Albert Gallatin,The History of Freemasonry, Vol. 6, p. 1485 - Masonic History Co., NY, 1898
16. Grand Lodge of Maryland
17. Grand Lodge of A.F.& A. M. of North Carolina
18. Timeline from Grand Lodge of South Carolina website
19. The Grand Lodge of Connecticut A.F. & A.M. - Home
20. Home
21. Grand Lodge of Vermont F&AM
22. Grand Lodge of Kentucky Free & Accepted Masons
23. The Grand Lodge of Masons in Delaware
24. Grand Lodge Free & Accepted Masons of Ohio
25. Freemasons of the Grand Lodge of D.C.: Home
26. http://www.la-mason.com/gl.htm
27. Grand Lodge of TN - Masonic Lodges of Tennessee
28. Indiana Freemasons Online
29. The Official Web Page of THE Grand Lodge of Mississippi F. & A. M
30. Grand Lodge of Maine Web Sites
31. Grand Lodge of Missouri
32. Grand Lodge F & A M of Alabama
33. Jackson,Joseph Abram (Grand Historian of the Grand Lodge of Alabama from 1965-1970) Masonry in Alabama (published by the Grand Lodge)
34. Michigan Masons
35. Grand Lodge of Florida
36. Carter, James D.; Masonry in Texas, pg. 312-313; publ. 1955, Comm. on Masonic Educ. & Service, Grand Lodge of Texas, AF & AM, Waco Tx
37. Grand Lodge of Illinois, A.F. and A.M
38. Grand Lodge Free & Accepted Masons of Wisconsin
39. Home
40. Masons of California
41. Masonic Grand Lodge of Oregon
42. Grand Lodge of Minnesota
43. Grand Lodge Of Kansas
44. Grand Lodge Of Nebraska
45. Reno, Russel G. (2007). The Sesquicentennial History of the Grand Lodge of Nebraska 1857 to 2007. Richmond, Virginia: Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply. ISBN 978-0-88053-199-3.
46. Most Worshipful Masonic Grand Lodge of Washington
47. Nevada Grand Lodge Website
48. West Virginia Grang Lodge
49. Grand Lodge of Montana
50. Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia A.F. & A.M. - Welcome
51. Grand Lodge of Idaho - Ancient Free & Accepted Masons
52. Organization of Grand Lodge
53. The Grand Lodge of New Brunswick - Home
54. Freemasons of Utah
55. Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Wyoming
57. Grand Lodge of Manitoba › Home
58. PEI Masonic Family-Freemasonry on PEI
59. Page Title
60. Grand Lodge of Arizona Free and Accepted Masons
61. Wayfarers Lodge #50 - History
62. North Dakota Freemasonry
63. Grand Lodge of Alberta AF & AM
64. masons.sk.ca
65. Welcome To Alaska Mason.Org
66. The official website of the Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of the State of Hawaii
67. Grand Lodge of Newfoundland and Labrador