Camden Lodge 159

Brethren,

Our last Lodge meeting we had our District Education Officer in attendance for his annual program. During his presentation he mentioned the name of an unusual Lodge named, Arts & Sciences Lodge (Ohio). I thought I would put something together on Lodge names.

Did U Know?

Lodges are named for a number of different reasons. Without a doubt the most common reason would be places or geographic locations. Generally this would be the name of the city or town the Lodge is located in, such as my home Lodge, Camden Lodge, Camden, Ohio. Others would include North Pole Lodge, North Pole, Alaska, Strange Creek Lodge, Strange Creek, West Virginia, and Capitol City Lodge, Columbus, Ohio (the capitol city of the state of Ohio).

The second most popular reason for Lodge names would be Biblical and Masonic. These would include Lodges named Acacia Lodge, West Gate Lodge, East Gate Lodge, South Gate Lodge, Triangle Lodge, St. Johns Lodge, Calvary Lodge, Harmony Lodge, Temperence Lodge, Golden Rule Lodge, Hiram Lodge, Eureka Lodge, Eastern Star Lodge, Meridian Sun Lodge, Doric Lodge, Widow’s Son Lodge, Celestial Lodge and Fellowship Lodge just to mention a few.

Another popular reason for Lodge names would be famous Masons such as Washington Lodge named for our most famous Brother and President George Washington, Bolivar Lodge named after South American Bro. Simon Bolivar and Lafayette Lodge after the famous Frenchman, Marquis De Lafayette. I also know of two Lodges named for non Masons in Jefferson Lodge and Lincoln Lodge. These Lodges were named in honor of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, both well respected men who looked favorably upon our Masonic Fraternity but were not Masons.

Then we have Lodges that are indicitive of specific things such as Emerald Lodge, a Lodge in Ireland. Fourth Estate Lodge, was a Masonic Lodge located in Boston, Massachusetts and comprised entirely of men in the newspaper business – the so-called “fourth estate.” There is Petroleum Lodge, Tulsa, Oklahoma once known as the oil capital of the world. In the year 2000 we saw a few Lodges merge or chartered calling themselves Millennium Lodge. We have quite a few Lodges named University Lodge which are Lodges in cities with major colleges or universities. There is a Solar Lodge which meets on Saturday mornings and a Buckeye Lodge in Ohio (the buckeye state). I’m sure there are numerous other examples of this category as well.

There are other Lodge names that are different but I’m sure have significance such as White Rose Lodge, Sparrow Lodge, and Flat Rock Lodge. There are Lodges that have no name but are referred to only by numbers. I will leave you with these unusual Lodge names: Cotton Gin, Cowanesque, Difficult, Bee House, Drytown (Drytown, California), Cereal, Invisible Friends, Fish House, and Tidal Wave.

All Lodges have their name for a reason. The interesting stories of those names, how they got them, who they were named after or the significance of these names is true history. Many, many Lodges have their own website and generally they will have at least a short history of the Lodge on their home page. if you want some very interseting reading then spend some time googleing or surfing the web and just read the histories of the Lodges. There are some very amazing stories and history lessons in their own right.

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May We Meet Upon The _|_ Act By The ! And Part Upon The |_

W. Bro. Dwight D. Seals
Camden Lodge #159
Camden, Ohio