Difference between revisions of "MALowell"

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LOWELL

The city was incorporated in 1823, separated from Chelmsford.

LODGES

• Ancient York Lodge, from 1852 to the present.
• Kilwinning Lodge, from 1866 to its merger with William Sewall Gardner Lodge in 2007.
• Pentucket Lodge, from 1823 to the present; note that Lowell was not yet in existence when the lodge was chartered (it was in Chelmsford).
• William North Lodge, from 1867 to the present.
• William Sewall Gardner Lodge, from 1928 to its merger with Kilwinning Lodge in 2007.
• William Sewall Gardner-Kilwinning Lodge, from 2007 to the present.

BUILDINGS

• 06/12/1872: 1872-118; Hall dedication reported in the Grand Master's Address at the June Quarterly. (held 02/13/1872; see below).
• 01/28/1913: 1913-10; Hall dedication, at a Special Communication.
• 09/08/1928: 1928-179; Corner-stone laying, at a Special Communication.
  • 10/08/1929: 1929-165; Hall dedication, at a Special Communication.

HALL DEDICATION, FEBRUARY 1827

HALL DEDICATION, FEBRUARY 1872

Tuesday the 13th of February was a calendar day in the history of Masonry in Lowell. Perhaps no town or city in this commonwealth, outside of the city of Boston, contains a larger number of Masons, in proportion to its population, than this our enterprising and beautiful " City of Spindles," and certainly none stands out more conspicuously, or is more distinguished for its Masonic intelligence and fidelity to the Craft. Its present Masonic prosperity is therefore to be regarded as almost a matter of course, as well as of congratulation. The rapid growth of the Order and increase of members rendering the apartments heretofore occupied by the various Lodges and other bodies, insufficient for their accommodation, the erection of a new and more capacious hall was determined on; and this determination having been carried out, the day above named was set apart for its official Dedication by the Grand Lodge of the state; which body was represented by a larger delegation of its officers and permanent members than we have ever known on any similiar occasion; consisting of:

• M. W. Sereno D. Nickerson, G. M.
• R. W. Percival L. Everett, D. G. M.
• R. W. Charles Kimball, S. G. W.
• R. W. Tracy P. Cheever, J. G. W.
• R. W. Benj. Dean as Grand Treasurer.
• R. W. Charles W. Moore, C. G. Sec.
• R. W. and Rev. Chas. H. Titus, G. Sec. as G. Chaplain.
• W. Andrew J. Smith as S. G. D.
• W. R. Montgomery Field as J. G. D.
• W. W. H. Chessman, G. Mar.
• R. W. W. F. Grammer, D. D. G. M.
• R. W. Henry P. Perkins, D. D. G. M.
• R. W. Joel Spaulding, R. W. Wm. Sutton, and R. W. W. F. Salmon, P. G. Ws.
• R. W. Winslow Lewis, Wm. Parkman, John T. Heard, and William S. Gardner, P. G. M.
• Bro. F. A. Pierce, Grand Tyler.

On their arrival at the Depot in Lowell, the members of the Grand Lodge were received and conveyed in carriages to the Washingtoa House, where they diaed together at a sumptuous and well spread table. At the conclusion of this interesting part of the services of the day, they were escorted to the new Temple, which they found filled to its utmost capacity, by not less than 500 Brethren who had assembled to witness the ceremonies. The officers of the four Lowell Lodges were present, those of Pentucket, by right of seniority, occupying the chairs, viz.: W. M. A. B. Hall, S. W. Oliver Ober, J. W. Fred'k. Frye. The officers of the other lodges participating in the exercises were W. M. A. A. Haggett, S. W. N. C. Sanborn, J. W. of Ancient York Lodge; W. M. H. Hosford, S. W., S. W. Stevens, J. W., J. L. Pevey of Kilwinning Lodge; W. M. A. F. Wright, S. W. A. K. Lynch, J. W. W. E. Livingston of William North Lodge. The Lodges were opened by the officers of Pentucket Lodge. The invocation by the Chaplain, D. R. Wallace, was followed by singing, after which brief remarks were made by W. M. Hall, who then appointed a committee to escort the officers of the Grand Lodge into the hall, which body was welcomed by the choir as follows :—

Raise, raise the choral strain,
To hail the noble train
Of Masons bright;
Lo! where the social band
Honored with high command,
Still, firm in wisdom stand,
Hail chiefs of light!

and by the presiding Master of the united Lodges, in an exceedingly neat address, to which Grand Master Nickerson made an appropriate response, and the Grand Officers took their places. The usual ceremonies of Dedication followed, and being interspersed with music by an admirable choir, were effectively and impressively rendered. These being concluded, the officers of the Grand Lodge resumed their places, and Grand Master Nickerson briefly addressed the Brethren, congratulating them on the beauty and convenience of their new apartments, and their great prosperity. He reminded them that the hall had been dedicated to Freemasonry, and expressed the hope that it might never be used for any other purpose. He did not approve of public exhibitions in apartments set apart and dedicated to the sacred purposes of the Order. He thought such exhibitions did no good, while they rendered the formulas of the Institution unnecessarily popular and common. He earnestly protested against the frequent publications of Masonic elections and installations in our secular papers, and expressed the hope that a practice so offensive to good taste and the true spirit of Masonry, might be dispensed with. He also reminded the Brethren that the hall had been solemnly dedicated to Virtue, and expressed the hope that in the admission of candidates, the different Lodges that were to occupy it, would never be unmindful of the important lesson which that dedication teaches. It is not enough, he said, that the candidate is a "good fellow"; he should be good, upright and honorable in all respects, for in such members the strength and usefulness of the Institution lie. He next spoke of the dedication to Universal Benevolence and urged upon the Brethren as an important duty, the cultivation and practice of an enlarged Charity, saying he hoped that in a short time the Grand Lodge of the commonwealth would be in a condition to co-operate with them more liberally than it had recently been able to do, in giving vitality and efficiency to this over-topping purpose of our Institution. And in conclusion he introduced R. W. Bro. William S. Gardner, P. G. M. as the orator of the occasion.

We took no notes of Bro. Gardner's address, and as it will probably be soon published by the Lodge, it is perhaps as well that we did not. We shall be able to do better justice by it when it is before us in print. It was of course and able an interesting performance. The speaker sketched, with great minuteness of detail, the introduction and rise of the earliest Lodges in the District; referring in fitting terms to the many distinguished Brethren who were identified with them, and contributed to their respectability and prosperity. The first Lodge in Chelmsford, now Lowell, was Pentucket Lodge, organized under a Charier dated March 9, 1807. Starting from this point, the speaker graphically traced its progress up to the present time—indicating with great particularity, the different locations, rooms, halls and dwellings, in which, in its infancy, it was fostered and nurtured into maturity. This part of his address must have been particularly interesting to the Lowell brethren, as several of these ancient places of meeting are still in existence, and we think there were some aged Brethren present, who in early life were accustomed to practice their Masonry in them. The speaker also noticed in suitable terms the several Lodges and other Bodies in the city of more recent date, and in conclusion paid a just tribute of respect to the memory of distinguished Brethren, who having acceptably performed their labors here, have from time to time passed on to a higher sphere of duty. The Grand Lodge then retired and was duly closed.

In the evening a reception was given by the Brethren to the ladies, at which some 1200 persons were admitted by ticket. After viewing the premises and admiring the beauties of the apartments, the company were shown up to the banqueting hall, where tables were spread with such luxuries and dainties as the season afforded, and the genius and good taste of Bro. J. B. Smith, the distinguished caterer of this city, could suggest. Under the blaze of the brilliant gas-lights from the chandeliers, they presented an elegant and inviting appearance, and we do not doubt that ample justice was done to the many good things spread upon them, by the many gratified guests present.

We are indebted to the Vox Populi of Lowell, for the following description of the edifice.

"It is a handsome structure standing on Merrimac street, its iron and granite facing of pleasing proportions rising between the city numbers "64" and "74." There is nothing particularly striking in its aspect, being of no recognized style of architecture. Still its fine granite face marked with good architectural effect, with well-chiseled belts and a centre break, towering to a Mansard roof of good proportions surmounting the three stories, command the attention of the stranger.

It has been erected by ex-Mayor Hosford, and was commenced more than a year ago. It was the intention of finishing the third and fourth floors for Masonic purposes, and under the care of a committee representing the several Masonic bodies of Lowell, the work to the fitting and furnishing has been prosecuted.

The third floor is reached by a spacious staircase. The main hall occupies the whole of the front on Merrimac street, and is 49x38 feet, and clears 17 1-2 feet. This hall is lighted by six long windows, and the breaks made by these in the walls give character to a handsome fresco design. The furniture is of walnut, heavily carved, and upholstered in maroon terry; the carpet is a heavy English Brussels, and the ceiling most elaborately and uniquely frescoed, blends in colors with the elegance it canopies.

At the rear of the organ is a small ante-room, entered from the entry way. This contains black walnut cases for the wardrobe of each of the bodies. Opposite the hall is the armory of the Pilgrim Commandery, which in size is 29x17 feet. It has cases for 180 members. Certainly, it is in finish, convenience and richness of its furnishings one of the finest in the State. The cases are ornamented with silver trimmings; from the ceiling depends a beautiful chandelier, and this, with several bronze and metallic knights, were the graceful gifts of friends.

In the ell is a flight of stairs leading to the floor above, at the side of which is a passage-way leading to the ante-rooms. At the right of this passage is a small hall, entrance opposite that of the large hall. It is 30x20 feet, and in finish is a fitting associate to the apartments referred to. The fourth floor is in finish much more simple, but its arrangement is worthy of remark. It includes a banquet hall, which is 49x38 feet. This is over the larger hall of the third floor, and is supplied with all the portables and fixtures to which it is devoted. On the side opposite the landing on this floor, and comparing in size with the armory below, is a room where the cases from the old armory are set up, and the place otherwise made pleasant. At the extreme end of the ell is the modern kitchen, and this is in every way supplied with domestic tools used in that branch of masonry. On this floor are also ante-rooms used by Mount Horeb R. A. C., Pentucket, Ancient York, Kilwinning, and William North Lodges."

We have not room for a more particular description of the apartments than is given above, nor does this seem to be necessary, our contemporary having so well relieved us of the duty. We cannot however leave the subject without expressing the personal gratification we felt in passing through the various apartments; all of which, without an exception, are distinguished by good taste, harmony of design, and liberality of expenditure. The small hall referred to above, and which we understand will be used as the Prelate's room, is a perfect little gem. We don't believe it is equalled by any similar room in the commonwealth. The armory is another, and the larger or working hall is in harmony with them. The frescoing impressed us most favorably, particularly the figure over the Senior Warden's chair in the West. Ingeniously relieved as it is by a mechanical arrangement of the canopy, it presents a finish and boldness of relief seldom met with. But where everything is so well done, it is hardly worth while to discriminate in favor of any particular part.

We congratulate our Brethren of Lowell on the completion of their work, and the admirable manner in which it has been executed.

HALL DEDICATION, JANUARY 1913

From New England Craftsman, Vol. VIII, No. 5, February 1913, Page 146:

Among many notable Masonic events that have attracted the attention of the brethren of Lowell, Mass., none have been more heartily observed or more cordially enjoyed than the dedication of the new Masonic Hall by the officers of Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, Tuesday, January 28th.

The officers of the Grand Lodge went from Boston in a special car. Their number included Rt. Wor. Leon M. Abbott, Senior Grand Warden and acting Grand Master in consequence of Grand Master Benton and Deputy Grand Master Fletcher being absent from the State for the purpose of constituting Sojourners Lodge at Cristobal, Canal Zone. Recording Grand Secretary Davis was also absent from the same cause. He and the Deputy Grand Master, however, were on their way home at that time and were able to telephone their congratulations from New York.

Arriving at Lowell the Grand Lodge Party were conveyed to a local club for dinner. From there they proceeded to the old Masonic Hall where Grand Lodge was formally opened,— the official stations being filled as follows: Rt. Wor. Leon M. Abbott, acting Grand Master; Rt. Wor. William H. Emerson, acting deputy grand master; Rt. Wor. Harry P. Ballard, as Senior Grand Warden; Charles W. Schuler, Junior Grand Warden; Rt Wor. Charles H. Ramsay, Grand Treasurer; Rt. Wor. Oliver A. Roberts, acting Grand Secretary; Rev. E. A. Horton, Grand Chaplain; George C. Thacher, Grand Marshal; Clinton A. Ferguson, and John C. Hurll, Grand Deacons; Henry B. Prescott and Emil K. Koessler, Grand Stewards; Philip T. Nickerson, Grand Sword Bearer and George W. Chester, Grand Tyler. The other members of the Grand Lodge ■a/ere, Past Grand Masters, Edwin B. Holmes, J. Albert Blake, and Dana J. Flanders; Past Grand Wardens James M. Gleason, William H. H. Soule, George W. Bishop, and Melvin M. Johnson. Grand High Priest Eugene A. Holton, Past Grand High Priests Warren B. Ellis, and Samuel F. Hubbard and Past Master Moses C. Plummer of Columbian Lodge were also among those present. The Grand Lodge was escorted to the new hall by a committee of which Rt. Wor. Solon W. Stevens was Chairman. The new lodge room was filled with near 800 brethren, the chair was occupied by Wor. Frank D. Proctor, master of Pentucket, the oldest lodge of Lowell. Worshipful Brother Proctor warmly greeted Rt. Wor. Brother Abbott, speaking as follows:

Right Worshipful Acting Grand Master:

I consider myself fortunate indeed that tonight as Master of Pentucket Lodge, the senior Lodge of Masons in Lowell, I have the honor and the very great pleasure of welcoming you as the representative of the most Worshipful Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts, together with the Grand Officers and your suite of distinguished Masons, to this meeting of the members of the four Masonic Lodges in Lowell.

I welcome you, Right Worshipful, in the name of the mother Lodge Pentucket (and she is a venerable mother 106 years young) and in the name of her three healthy, vigorous and prosperous children, Ancient York, Kilwinning and William North Lodges, aH of whom combine a membership of sixteen hundred Masons, everyone of whom is, I assure you, as loyal to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts which you represent, as can be found anywhere in this Commonwealth.

Our membership is drawn from every walk of life, and perhaps our chief source of strength lies in the fact that the professional man sits beside the business man in our lodge-room, the manufacturer and the operative in his mill meet here on the level and the banker and capitalist here clasp hands with the mechanic and the farmer.

Now in the beginning, Right Worshipful, Pentucket Lodge started with a charter membership of fifteen and of course during all these years our steady growth has necessitated the use of larger and still larger accommodations and we have met in no less than eight different lodge-rooms during our career as Masons and tonight, Right Worshipful, we have invited you here to place, if you please, the seal of your approval on the finished work of the Craftsmen who have labored so long and so faithfully to provide for the brethren of Lowell a meeting place which shall contribute more bountifully to their comfort, be a delight to their aesthetic sense and shall be also an honor to the craft of which we are proud to be members.

Right Worshipful, believe me, when I say to you, that you are most welcome in this new home of the Masons of Lowell.

Rt. Wor. Brother Abbott made an appropriate response to the welcome, assumed the East and proceeded to formally dedicate the new hall. After an ode, Hail to the Morning by the Weber Quartet of Boston, the exercises continued as follows:

• Prayer, Grand Chaplain;
• Surrender of the working tools by Right Worshipful Arthur G. Pollard, past Deputy Grand Master;
• Distribution of the working tools to grand officers;
• Procession of officers for examination of the apartments;
• Dedication to Freemasonry, to Virtue and to Universal Benevolence;
• Invocation by the Grand Chaplain;
• Proclamation by Grand Marshal Thacher;
• Address by the Acting Grand Master;
• Singing of hymn O God, Thou Hast Raised in Thy Glorious Might;
• Prayer, and report of the executive committee, Past Masters Frank L. Weaver, Avery B. Clark and Frank K. Stearns.

ACTING GRAND MASTER ABBOTT'S ADDRESS

The address of Rt. Wor. Brother Abbott was a splendid tribute to Masonry and to the Masons of Lowell who have been conspicuous in its service. It was as follows:

Worshipful Master of Pentucket Lodge, Most Worshipful Grand Masters, and Brethren of Lowell:

The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts congratulates you most heartily upon these Apartments and upon this new and beautiful home, the providing of which marks an important event in the history of the Fraternity in this city. We share with you the joy of this reward of labor and sacrifice.

It is a matter of sincere regret that the absence from the country of the Most Worshipful Grand Master and that of the Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master, prevents their being here tonight to participate in the ceremonies of the dedication and to add to the pleasure of the occasion by their presence, but the fact that they are engaged in the performance of official Masonic duties in a distant clime and country illustrates and emphasizes the universality of Freemasonry and gives to us a better appreciation of the broad and beneficial influence of our own Grand Lodge with its subordinate Lodges in Panama, in Chile, and even in far distant China.

Brethren, it would seem immodest and unbecoming of me, serving, as I am, temporarily and almost accidentally, as Acting Grand Master, to make an extended address here or try to do full justice to the spirit of Masonic loyalty and devotion, to which these apartments give silent, yet almost eloquent expression. These witnesses bear testimony far more convincing; and enduring than that of human lips.

Here, indeed, is an outward am1 conclusive revelation of a deep and consecrated interest in Masonry. We judge a man in Masonry by what he does rather than by what he says. A mere profession of interest in Masonry, with manifest indifference to the rugged virtues for which it stand, and which it seeks to advance and perpetuate, would never have resulted in such fruition as we see about us on every hand here to-night. "By their fruits ye shall know them." is the Square, the Level, and the Plumb, by which our professions as Masons shall be tried, and by which we as Masons shall be judged.

The Masons of Lowell early won and secured an enviable position among the bodies of Masonry throughout the entire jurisdiction. The history of the Fraternity in this city has been so closely associated with every movement for the advance of the general welfare of the community, that there can be no doubt that within your Lodge rooms have been born and nurtured many of the noblest impulses and resolves of good citizenship. I venture to say that a large part of the Protestant God-loving, God-serving people of this city, who are not members of our Institution, recognize in it a sturdy bulwark of civic righteousness, a champion of £uixian liberty, and a pioneer of advancing civilization.

In an address which was entitled «The Duties of Freemasonry," given uy Bro. Wilkes Allen in your own Pentucket Lodge, 104 years ago, at the consecration of the Lodge, there was contained a remarkably beautiful exposition of the teachings of Freemasonry, and it is interesting in its recital of the relation of our Fraternity to civil society; and I am going to ask you to indulge my reading of just one paragraph from this discourse given over a century ago, just to show how futile and powerless have been the attacks of time upon those eternal truths which are the center and the circumference of our historic fellowship. (Quoted paragraph missing).

What more beautiful sentiment and Expression of Masonic teaching could any brother give today? The principles of Masonry have come down to us through more than one hundred years, unstained, unsullied and unspotted. I believe that these words and these sentiments which were expressed in your own Pentucket Lodge room, 104 years ago, will find today a ready echo in every Masonic heart. With the exception, or with the interruption of only eleven years, from 1834 to 1845, during the troublous anti-Masonic period, when the charters of your bodies were surrendered, the banner of organized Masonry has been borne aloft in this city from 1807, as your Worshipful Master has said, down to the present day. It has been borne by men of virtuous character and reputation in the community.

With an institution like ours, which recognizes no distinction among men, save that of righteousness alone, who is there who can estimate or measure the tremendous influence for practical good in the thought and in the lives of men, and in the very life of any community, of one hundred years of active devotion to the brotherly love of Masonry, that moral excellence which is the very basis of all right relations with our fellow men. "Masonry breathes into the common, the every day life of men,' the glory of the ideal," and truer, better, and happier lives bear witness. Human standards have been raised, human hearts have been soothed and comforted and strengthened, and in word and in deed God has been glorified.

The membership rolls of the Fraternity in the city bear the names of many distinguished men, men who have been prominent in almost every avenue of honest human effort. There are clergymen, physicians, lawyers, and, as your Worshipful Master has said, there have been manufacturers and business men. There have been employers and employees, who have all met in your Lodge rooms on the level and parted on the square. Your past has indeed been rich in the membership of many who no longer answer when their names are called; (Some of their faces look down upon us from the walls of adjoining rooms); their lives have been faithful and beautiful expressions of the tenets and the teachings of our Fraternity; but, rich as has been your membership in the past, there has never been a time, I dare say, in the history of the Fraternity in this city, when there has been greater riches in membership than there are in this splendid body of representative men, united in purpose and in sympathy of ultimate and noblest aim. I see here to-night the faces of some who were reported as being present at the dedication of your Masonic Hall in 1872, by our late Most Worshipful Brother Nickerson, and I know it is a matter of pride and congratulation with you, as it is with me, that these Brethren have been spared to us and that they are here to-night to inspire and encourage us by their presence. The names Stevens, of Hutchinson, of Livingston, and of many others, will ever continue to brighten and illumine the pages of the history of Masonic achievement in Massachusetts. And what shall I say, Brethren, of him whose attachment for Masonry, whose tireless energy, whose great love for his fellow men, and whose liberality has, in a large measure made these apartments a present day possibility? Lowell is richer, Masonry is richer, the world is richer, because of the radiance of such a splendid life and service as that of our own Right Worshipful Arthur G. Pollard. May he long live to receive the benedictions of his fellow men and to inspire them by his example.

Brethren, may these ceremonies of to-night but symbolize the dedication anew of your lives and of mine to the highest and truest ideals we know, to the indulgence of every sentiment which ennobles human nature. The honor, the integrity, the reputation of Freemasonry are in our keeping' a sacred trust to be administered for the benefit of humanity, and, looking beyond our own lives, we shall, by our faithfulness and worthiness, prefigure the destinies of our Institution; and verily there shall be established on earth and in the hearts and lives of allmen in the world over, the glorious sovereignty of brotherly love.

The new Masonic Hall is one of the finest and probably the largest in the State. It is of classic design inclining toward the Corinthian. It is handsomely furnished by the contributions 0f individual brethren. The Masons of Lowell may be congratulated on the possession of such a noble hall; it fitly expresses the character of the large hearted brethren who made it possible of attainment.

The closing feature of the evening was the presentation of a portrait of Right Worshipful Solon W. Stevens in oil by Arthur M. Hazard, the celebrated artist. This picture has been placed in the new hall with those of Charles C. Hutchinson, Arthur G. Pollard and the late Hon. Charles A. Stott.

Mr. Stevens has been prominent in the order for years and has been the orator on many occasions. He is a past commander of Pilgrim Commandery, K. T., also a past grand warden and is affiliated with a number of local organizations.

LINKS

• Places
• Lodges
• Lowell Wikipedia entry