Ritual, Secrecy and Civil Society Volume 1, Number 1, Spring 2013 | Page 62

Ritual , Secrecy , and Civil Society
A similar categorization of membership describes the charter members of Anacostia Lodge No . 21 in 1868 : “ The Master , a clerk ; the Senior Warden , a bricklayer ; the Junior Warden , a clerk ; the Secretary , a lawyer …[ members ] Hotel – keeper , Tinsmith , Blacksmith , Watchmaker , Merchant , Druggist , Carpenter , Gardener , Grocer , Farmer , Musician , Wood-dealer , Cigar-maker , Barber …”. x This diversity was all the more noteworthy because lodge fees in this era could exceed a month ’ s wages . xi
After the war was over , lodges were quick to extend a hand to the former rebels ; when Lebanon Lodge received a request in 1866 from brethren in Columbia , South Carolina , for a donation towards rebuilding their temple , it was met . xii While help was extended to others , growth raised questions of the lack of an adequate Grand Lodge headquarters . In 1868 Masonry showed its renewed strength by erecting a magnificent temple at Ninth and F Streets N . W ., which still stands though not in Masonic hands . It was restored at great expense in the 1990s to its former architectural glory for , among other things , a seafood restaurant . Brother Adolf Cluss , the architect , also designed the Smithsonian ’ s Arts and Industries Building and the Eastern Market . He was a staunch member of Lafayette Lodge and the architect as well of the Lafayette School . The ballroom in the new temple during Grand Lodge occupancy became a favored venue for the city ’ s important social events .
When the cornerstone was laid in May 1868 , President Andrew Johnson , a Master Mason , excused all members of the Executive Branch who were Masons to march with him in the parade to the site . xiii The building served well , but an even more magnificent new headquarters opened on 13th Street in 1908 . In 1983 , this was purchased from the Masons for what is now the National Museum of Women in the Arts . While it was a Masonic center , the building for a time housed the George Washington University Law School , and the edifice now is on the National Register of Historic Places . The exterior retains beautifully crafted Masonic symbols , as well as remarkable interior features such as the sweeping marble staircases . xiv
The Ninth Street building was a credit to the growth of Washington Freemasonry and to Grand Master Benjamin B . French . This was a period of many prominent Masons , but Brother French was such an exceptional one that he requires special notice in the history of Washington Freemasonry . xv He knew every president from Andrew Jackson ( 1833 ) to Andrew Johnson ( 1867 ), organizing Lincoln ’ s Inaugural , and the Gettysburg memorial dedication . He oversaw the completion of the Capitol with its new dome , and President Lincoln ’ s funeral , visiting him on his deathbed . His house was on the site of the present Jefferson building of the Library of Congress . Commissioner of Public Buildings in Washington , he lost the job because of his anti-slavery views and then was reappointed by Lincoln . He chaired the Board of Alderman of the District , headed the Telegraph Company , and chaired the District relief committee to support families of soldiers during the Civil War . xvi
Initiated in 1826 in New Hampshire and courageously serving there as master during the Anti-Masonic period , he was also an officer of the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire . After moving to Washington , he was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge from 1847 to 1853 , and in 1868 became Grand Master again after much persuasion . He was active in many other bodies .
In his diary , French describes an early encounter with Albert Pike on Wednesday , January 12 , 1853 : “… passed the day at my office and the Capitol , and in the evening attended a meeting of the Encampment of Knights Templars , and conferred the orders on Albert Pike , Esq . of Arkansas . He is a scholar and a poet . Was an officer in the Mexican War and a man I am disposed to hold in High estimation .” Then , on
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