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MOUNT VERNON LODGE

Location: Malden

Chartered By: John T. Heard

Charter Date: 09/08/1858 VI-190

Precedence Date: 08/27/1857

Current Status: merged with Galilean Lodge, 09/10/1997, to form Mount Vernon-Galilean Lodge.

PAST MASTERS

REFERENCES IN GRAND LODGE PROCEEDINGS

• Petition for Dispensation: 1857
• Petition for Charter: 1858
• Consolidation Petition (with Galilean Lodge): 1997

ANNIVERSARIES

• 1907 (50th Anniversary)
• 1932 (75th Anniversary)
• 1957 (Centenary)
• 1982 (125th Anniversary)

VISITS BY GRAND MASTER

• 1858 (Heard; Constitution of Lodge and installation; Special Communication; see below)
• 1881 (Lawrence)
• 1887 (Endicott; Hall Dedication; Special Communication)
• 1891 (Wells)
• 1894 (Weld)
• 1899 (Hutchinson)
• 1901 (Gallagher)
• 1903 (Sanford)
• 1906 (Blake; 2 visits)
• 1907 (Blake; 50th Anniversary; Special Communication)
• 1909 (Flanders; 3 visits, including Ladies' Night)
• 1910 (Flanders; reception for Junior Grand Warden Walter F. Medding)
• 1927 (Simpson)
• 1932 (Chipman; 75th Anniversary; Special Communication)
• 1936 (Allen; reception for Junior Grand Warden Frederic L. Putnam)
• 1957 (A. Jenkins; Centenary; Special Communication)
• 1982 (Berquist; 125th Anniversary; Special Communication)
• 1989 (Ames; installation)
• 1997 (A. Johnson; Consolidation; Special Communication)

BY-LAW CHANGES

1869 1870 1871 1873 1876 1877 1879 1880 1888 1897 1910 1911 1916 1930 1937 1939 1951 1957 1960 1976

HISTORY

• 1907 (Historical address, 1907-129)
• 1932 (75th Anniversary History, 1932-175)
• 1957 (Centenary History, 1957-160)
• 1982 (125th Anniversary History, 1982-121)

125TH ANNIVERSARY HISTORY, NOVEMBER 1982

1857 - 1982
by Worshipful Robert Sullivan

The occasion which brings us together this evening is one of no ordinary circumstance. When one arrives at their one hundred and twenty-fifth milestone in their life's journey, it is well to look back into time to excite our enthusiasm and desire for more knowledge of the formation and early history of our existence and to record one's career from the beginning to the present time.

We learn, from the earliest pages of our records, that a charter was granted in June, 1817 to a group of brethren in Malden under the name of Mount Hermon Lodge. This charter had been deposited with the Grand Lodge about the year 1828, in anticipation of a proposed removal to the town of Medford and a petition in 1857 was presented to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts by our founders for its restoration. A committee of the Grand Lodge reported that all objections be waived if any existed, and the prayer of the petitioners be granted, provided the records of the lodge could be produced. Upon investigation, it was satisfactorily ascertained that the records had been destroyed by fire in a building owned by Charles W. Brown, where they had been stored. A petition was then presented to the Grand Lodge for a Dispensation to form a new lodge by the following brothers: Benjamin G. Hill, Henry Crehore, Charles Hill, Charles Lewis, Thomas Tufts, James Bartlett, Edward D. Bell, Solomon Crusg William C. Brooks, Francis Morandi, Toppan Sargent, George G. Hill, Robert W. Dresser, and Thomas Shedd. These petitioners prayed to be congregated into a regular lodge under the name and title of Mount Vernon Lodge with permission to hold same in the town of Malden. The Dispensation was granted on August 27, 1857, by Most Worshipful John T. Heard, Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts, and was received by the petitioners on September 1, 1857.

On the evening of September l, 1857, the first meeting was held in an upper room in the home of Brother Charles Hill on the corner of Main and Irving Streets, This house served as a meeting place for the lodge for about one year. There were present at this first meeting Brothers B.G. Hill, Henry Crehore, Charles Hill, Solomon Cruse, R. W. Dresser, E.D. Bell, Francis Morandi, and Thomas Tufts. The Worshipful Master, B.G. Hill, read the Dispensation and the lodge was opened in form on the third degree. It was voted on at this first meeting that the regular communications of the lodge be held on Tuesday "on or next preceding the full of the moon of each month during the months the Iodge shall hold meetings." Thus in the first year, fourteen regular and nineteen special meetings were held. For many years, Mount Vernon Lodge remained one of the "Moon" Lodges which are now practically non-existent.

At the 12th regular communication held July 20, 1858, a committee was appointed to procure a new hall and to have the same properly fitted up for Masonic uses. The committee hired rooms from the town in the upper part of the town house now the old City Hall, and fitted up the lodge room in the westerly portion of the building. It is a fact that this committee made no report of their efforts in procuring a new lodge room until May, 1859, when a report was submitted of the cost attending the fitting and furnishing of the hall which was $794.32.

At the communication on September 24, 1858, the lodge voted to admit twenty-two brethren for membership, and these with the original members under dispensation, at the communications held on October 7, elected the following officers for one year: Worshipful Master, Benjamin G. Hill; Senior Warden, Charles Hill; Junior Warden, James Bartlett; Tieasurer, Edward D. Bell; Secretary, W.D. Holden; Senior Deacon, George D. Allen; Junior Deacon, R. W. Dresser; Senior Steward, Thomas A. Shedd; Junior Steward, Henry H. Hyde; Marshal, Joseph H. Waitt; Tyler, Thomas Tufts.

On March 6, 1860, a vote was passed by which Article II of the By-Laws was changed to have the regular meetings of the lodge held on the fourth Tuesday of each month. At the following June meeting, Rev. Bro. Greenwood, on behalf of the wives and daughters of the members, presented the lodge with a marble clock and a seraphim. This clock is still keeping excellent time and hangs on the wall of this apartment even to this day.

At the regular communication on May 1, 1862, a motion was offered by the Treasurer, Brother Joseph M. Russell, that a fund for the benefit of widows and orphans of members of this lodge be established. This motion was referred to Bros. Greenwood, Russell and Eastham with instructions to report at the next regular meeting. The committee reported favorably June 3, and the recommendation was adopted to establish the Widows and Orphans Fund of Mount Vernon Lodge.

A special communication was held on the evening of October 14, 1864 for the purpose of taking part in the laying of the corner-stone of the new Masonic Temple in Boston. Upon arrival of the lodge in Boston, they were received by Wyoming Lodge of Melrose, accompanied by the Boston Brigade Band, and escorted to their position in the line.

It was voted at a special meeting October 19, 1865, that a festival be given on the evening of February 22, 1866, for the benefit of the Widows and Orphans Fund, and a committee of six was appointed to carry this motion into effect. The committeg reported at the regular April meeting, 1866, a net profit of $1,020.08 and that a loan of $1,000 had been made to the Town of Malden at seven and three-tenths percent interest. This amount is the largest single addition to the fund and placed it on a substantial basis.

In January, 1866, the brethren of Melrose met with a serious loss by the destruction of their Masonic apartments by fire. The Worshipful Master of Mount Vernon Lodge promptly tendered the use of the lodge room to Wyoming Lodge and Waverly Royal Arch Chapter, which action was unanimously confirmed by Mount Vernon Lodge at the regular meeting in February. Waverly Chapter accepted the tender of the lodge and held its meetings in Malden until the new Wyoming Masonic Hall was completed. Wyoming Lodge found temporary quarters elsewhere.

On the 18th of December, 1867, there occurred a terrible railroad disaster at Angola, N.Y. by which Mount Vernon Lodge was greatly bereaved by the untimely death of its late Worshipful Master, Bro. John W Chapman, a passenger on the ill-fated train. A. special communication was called December 26, when the action of the Worshipful Master in the appointment of a committee to visit the scene of the disaster in search of the body or some traces of the remains, was unanimously confirmed. Bros. John G. Gillette, and John H. Abbott, the committee, reported very fully at the January meeting the failure of their efforts to identify any traces of the brother whose untimely death brought sorrow to so many hearts in Malden, for Brother Chapman's popularity extended far beyond the membership of the lodge, and his genial personality endeared him to all with whom he became acquainted.

On March 5, 1868, the lodge received a petition from several brethren residing in the south part of the town, for permission to form a new lodge in that section. This petition was referred to a committee of seven, who, at the June meeting reported adversely. A second petition was presented for approval on November 5, 1868, by certain members, asking again that a new lodge be formed in south Malden. This was referred to a committee who reported favorably at the December meeting, and the lodge voted that the prayer of the petitioners be granted. It was also voted that the use of the lodge room be given to the new lodge during the year of Dispensation at a nominal cost. This was the first daughter of Mount Vernon and is now the body of Masons known as Palestine Lodge of Everett.

In a response to a request from the Grand Master for aid for Chicago Masons made destitute by the great fire in that city in 1871, the lodge appropriated the sum of $100.00.

The twenty-fifth anniversary of Mount vernon Lodge was held in City Hall on the evening of January 1, 1883. The program consisted of a number of speeches and musical presentations and was followed by a fine collation.

A committee was appointed during the June 1885 meeting for the purpose of seeking better accommodations for the lodge; and at a special meeting held on June 15, the results of their interview with Mr. H.D. Xerxa, and recommended leasing the apartments in the proposed new building. Plans for the new hall were presented, and after inspection by the members, the lodge voted to appoint a committee of five, with full powers to negotiate with the owner, for apartments for Masonic purposes in Malden for terms of twenty years at a rental not to exceed four hundred dollars per annum to the lodge. At another special meeting on June 22, they reported very fully the results of their interview with Mr. Xerxa and the architect, stating that one thousand dollars was the annual rent the owner deemed a fair amount for the two floors designed for Masonic apartments. A guarantee fund of six hundred dollars yearly was pledged by thirty-eight members at the meeting, and resolutions adopted providing for a committee of three to act for the lodge in leasing the apartments and with authority to make minor changes in the plans if deemed desirable. A group of twenty formed a committee on May 6, 1886 to oversee the fitting, furnishing and equipping of the new Masonic apartments. with the fittings and furnishings of the new apartments having been completed, the lodge held its first meeting in its new home in December of that year.

At the annual meeting in November of 1886, a petition from Bro. Albert H. Davenport and others praying for the recommendation of the lodge to its petition to the Grand Master to form and open a new lodge in Malden, was received and referred to a committee, which in the following month reported favorably. The lodge voted its approval and the second daughter of Mount Vernon Lodge was created to be known as Converse Lodge. This was the first of three lodges which now share our apartments. The largest gathering of Masons ever held in these apartments occurred at a special meeting held on April 19, 1894. The Deputy Grand Master of Massachusetts with a large suite accompanying him, and the Grand Master of New Hampshire and suite were present, with a very large delegation of brethren from Portsmouth and Dover, New Hampshire. The Brethren of Mount Vernon and Converse lodge were also out in large numbers. The work of the evening was the exemplification ofthe third degree. A banquet followed at which over seven hundred brothers were entertained by speeches from the guests which added to the enjoyment of the evening. The history of the first fifty years of Mount Vernon lodge was celebrated on October 7 and 8, 1907, under the direction of the presiding master, Worshipful Joseph O. Wiggin. The little acorn planted by the twelve brethren in 1857 had become the sturdy oak with its nearly 500 members, and the more than 800 signatures on the\bylaws of the lodge since our organization to the anniversary in 1907 attests to that fact. From our ranks many have been selected by their fellow citzens to fill important positions in the government of town and city affairs during and following our first fifty years. Several incumbents of the office of Mayor have been members of our lodgg and many others have been chosen to the boards of alderman, city council, and representatives in the legislature. The principles of Masonry instilled into the minds of these brethren have made them better men than they could have been otherwise. The next twenty-five years was a period of tremendous growth for our lodge. During the years from 1907 to 1932,the membership had grown to 831 brothers. There was more growth in this quarter century than in the first fifty years of Mount Vernon's existence. But during the forties, the effects of the depression were beginning to cause some serious encumbrances in the growth of Mount Vernon lodge. Though a rapid decline in applications for new membership and a tremendous number of deaths among our brethren resulted in a substantial Ioss to the lodge, the membership stabilized to approximately five hundred and fifty members. During the first one hundred years of Mount Vernon todge, we have had enrolled as members 1,946 brothers. The Centennial celebration was held in these apartments on Thursday evening, November 7,1957. The Most Worshipful Andrew G. Jenkins, sixteen Grand Lodge officers, ten presiding masters of the Malden-Melrose Masonic District, and 234 members with their guests were present for dinner and shared with us in this anniversary program. Year after year, decade after decade, we have been tenants at the home of Bro. Hill, then at the old Malden City Hall, later at the Xerxa Building, and since the mid 1925's at the present Masonic apartments in which we are presently meeting tonight. It was agreed upon to take an option on the Old Colony Building for the purpose ofpurchasing said property, and on September 1, 1961, the Malden Masonic Association took legal possession of this building for the price of $160,000. On June 7 , 1962, Right Worshipful Aaron R. Davison, District Deputy Grand Master of the Malden Seventh Masonic District, was escorted to the East of Mount Vernon Lodge for the honor of presenting our Past Master Worshipful Henry L. Thylor with the Joseph Warren medal for his distinguished service to the craft in connection with the blood program of the Grand Lodge. This is the first time, in our lodge's history, that a member has been so honored. This award was presented for the second time on June 5, 1969, when Right Worshipful Ernest A. Crossland was presented this medal by the District Deputy Grand Master, Right Worshipful Arnold W. Cole, for serving the craft long and well Other Grand Lodge honors have been conferred upon our members. Appointments for District Deputy Grand Master for the Malden Seventh Masonic District were best0wed upon Worshipful Henry L. Taylor in December 1966, and Worshipful Alvah D. Gardiner, Jr. in December 1978. Other milestones'were achieved by our lodge. On May 9, 1972, Right Worshipful Oliver Rutherford of the Grand Lodge Service Committee, presented the lodge with its second consecutive blood plaque for achievement ofover 100 pints of blood donated by its members in one year. On June lO, 19j2, a Brotherhood Night consisting of a dinner and dance was held in conjunction with the local Knights of Columbus Lodge. For the first time in our history, we were forced to hold our next four consecutive meetings at different locations, due to a disastrous fire which raged through the Malden apartments on May 5, 19i2. These last twenty-five years have proven to be no different than our preceding quarter of a century. As of September l, 1982, our membership count stands at 267 brothers. An alarming fact becomes clear! Statistics are proving that our membership is steadily declining at a rate of fifty percent every twenty-five years. At this rate, it is only a matter of time before this lodge and all it stands for will cease to exist. Now is the timg as men of this community and members of this lodgg for us to put our minds together to remedy this condition and turn the situation around. Our founders had enough foresight to make our lodge financially solvent, even at today's standards, but we must insure that for all future ages, we, the present members of this lodgg must strive to support and renew the bloodline that will keep this lodge continually growing and on the rise. Masonry is a fitting rule and guide of our lives, not to make us off from others, but to bring us to that deeper and closer meaning of the C.A.OTU. Freemasonry is an educational and charitable fraternal order, the structure of which is derived from the medieval builders of the great cathedrals. As builders of better men in this era of conflict and confusion, we can make Masonry a way of life and a most valuable contribution to all. Our charity is not evaluated entirely in the terms of money. Charity comes from the heart of the individual and is one of the great lessons taught in all of the degrees of our order. As Masons, it is our duty to practice it diligently in our daily lives, not only to members of our great Fraternity, but to all mankind. Life demands of the average man not sparkling genius, but everyday consistency; not cunning craftiness, but patient plodding. The world needs men who do, not men who are done; men who are self-reliant, eager, devoted, and courageous - men who control crowds rather than cower to them; men who, when their knees knock, kneel on them, then rise and go forth to the task which needs to be done. As a Mason you are casting a shadow daily upon everyone who comes in contact with you' The influence of a person depends, in a large measure, upon the extent to which one invests himself in others. It is the moral and spiritual uplift they receive from doing something worthwhile - the satisfaction in working with one another' side by side, as members of the oldest Fraternity in the world - the acceptance of a need for service to humanity - but most important of all it is that of brotherly love and affection, that cement which unites the bonds of friendship and makes us as living stones for the great temple not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

OTHER

• 1883 (Jurisdictional dispute, 1883-262)
• 1941 (Petition for reduction of fees refused; 1941-215)
• 1958 (Participation in 50th Anniversary of corner stone laying, 1958-137)

EVENTS

CONSTITUTION OF LODGE, OCTOBER 1858

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol. XVIII, No. 1, November 1858, Page 19:

This is a new Lodge, which has just been established in the neighboring village of Malden, under highly favorable auspices. Having worked a year under Dispensation, it was constituted by the executive officers of the Grand Lodge, on Thursday, the 12th of October, when the officers were installed, and the hall, which has been tastefully and appropriately fitted up, was dedicated according to ancient usage. The ceremonies and services were conducted by the Grand Master, assisted by his officers, and passed off to the gratification of a large collection of Brethren, numbering over one hundred, from Boston, Charlestown, and Somerville. After the ceremonies, a Poem, of great merit and appropriateness, was delivered by Rev. Bro. T. J. Greenwood, a Chaplain of the new Lodge, by whom the excellent hymns sang on the occasion were also written.

The officers installed are as follows:

• B. G. Hill, Master
• Charles Hill and James Bartlett, Wardens
• Edward D. Bell, Treas.
• W. D. Holden, Secy.
• Geo. D. Allen and R. W. Dresser, Deacons
• Thos. S. Shedd and H. H. Hyde, Stewards
• Rev. T. J. Greenwood, Chaplain, and
• Thomas Tufts, Tyler

GRAND LODGE OFFICERS

• William F. Chester, DDGM, District 7 (Lynn), 1892, 1893, 1894; SN
• George A. Chisholm, DDGM, District 7 (Malden), 1931, 1932; N
• Ernest A. Crossland, DDGM, District 7 (Malden), 1953, 1954; N
• Hagop V. Demirdjian, DDGM, District 7 (Malden), 1988, 1989
• Theodore N. Foque, DDGM, District 17 (Woburn), 1875, 1876, 1877, 1878; SN
• Alvah D. Gardiner, Jr., DDGM, District 7 (Malden), 1979, 1980; N
• George M. Keen, DDGM, District 7 (Malden), 1943, 1944; N
• Walter F. Medding, DDGM, District 7 (Lynn), 1906, 1907; Junior Grand Warden 1910
• Frederic L. Putnam, DDGM, District 7 (Melrose), 1927; Senior Grand Warden 1936; N
• Henry L. Taylor, DDGM, District 7 (Malden), 1967, 1968; N
• Edward B. Wentworth, DDGM, District 7 (Malden), 1921, 1922; N

DISTRICTS

1857: District 11

1867: District 2 (Charlestown)

1872: District 17 (Woburn)

1883: District 7 (Lynn)

1911: District 7 (Malden)

1927: District 7 (Malden)

LINKS

Massachusetts Lodges