The Masonic Hall of Fame: Extraordinary Freemasons in American History

Cover Photo: Certificate, June 23, 1799. Provided by Colonial North America at Harvard Library, Harvard University, Houghton Library. Prince Hall, who was barred from joining American Masonic lodges because of his race, founded the historically Black organization that now bears his name. In 1799, Hall, as Grand Master of the African Lodge in Boston, signed this certificate. Hall is an inductee to the Masonic Hall of Fame.

by Hilary Anderson Stelling, Assistant Curator, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Since November, the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library has been welcoming visitors to the museum to our latest exhibition, “The Masonic Hall of Fame: Extraordinary Freemasons in American History.” This new exhibition showcases inspiring Freemasons and introduces visitors to the history of American Freemasonry. In telling this story, the exhibition draws on the Museum & Library’s rich collection of objects, images, and archival material. Each object in the exhibition is connected to a Mason who helped shape and sustain Freemasonry, in big and small ways. Visitors to the exhibition learn about extraordinary Masons in the Hall of Fame who, through their outsized contributions to Freemasonry, government, the arts, and other pursuits, made a profound impact on their world and ours.

Hall of Fame

Ten Masonic Hall of Fame inductees are featured this year and more will be added in coming years. In Hall of Fame kiosks placed throughout the exhibition, visitors can learn more about these inductees: explorers, such as John Glenn and Lewis and Clark, and men who fought for social justice, like John Lewis and Prince Hall. Their stories are presented alongside visionary and compassionate leaders such as Harry Truman and John Lejeune; giants of American arts like Mark Twain and Irving Berlin; and those of two leaders who helped establish the United States in its earliest years, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. In putting together this exhibition, staff at the Museum & Library hoped that visitors would find inspiration in the Hall of Fame inductees’ personal biographies, accomplishments, and words.

Notable and Everyday Americans

The exhibition looks at the history of Freemasonry in the United States from its beginnings in the 1700s to the present day. In the exhibition, visitors will encounter both remarkable and everyday Freemasons who helped to build communities, establish charitable institutions, and shape American society. Rooted in the Fraternal bonds and connections between members, Freemasonry continues to play an important part in the lives of members and their families. “The Masonic Hall of Fame: Extraordinary Freemasons in American History” illuminates some of the ways that the United States and Freemasonry have grown, thrived, and changed together.

The Constitutions of the Free-Masons, 1734. Acquired through the generosity of Mount Lebanon Lodge, Boston; St. Andrew’s Lodge, Boston; and Kane Lodge Foundation, New York, RARE 31 .A547 1734. In 1734, Benjamin Franklin produced the first book about Freemasonry that was printed in North America. Franklin based his Constitutions—which contained the history, laws, and regulations of Freemasonry—on the English edition published in 1723. Franklin is one of this year’s inductees to the Masonic Hall of Fame.

Apron, 1760-1780. Gift of Dr. Phillip James Jones, 83.45. Photograph by David Bohl. The form of Masonic aprons derives from the protective aprons, often leather, worn by stonemasons and other craftsmen. This apron, likely made in Massachusetts, is an unusual survival from the late 1700s and one of the oldest objects on view in the exhibition.

George Washington, 1794. William Joseph Williams. Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, A.F. & A.M., Alexandria, Virginia. Inaugurated on April 30, 1789, George Washington became the first and only United States President to also serve as Master of his lodge during his term. For over two centuries, Freemasons have taken great pride in Washington's membership in the Fraternity. Washington is one the inductees into the Masonic Hall of Fame.

Meriwether Lewis Masonic Certificate, 1799. Accession #3837. Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson charged Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead an expedition to map and explore the land that the United States had gained with the Louisiana Purchase. Both explorers were Freemasons, and Lewis received the Royal Arch degree in 1799, as noted in this certificate. Both Lewis and Clark are inductees into the Masonic Hall of Fame. Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning, 1918. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library.

Past Master's Jewel, ca. 1806. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, 86.10. Julia Featheringill Photography. A member of St. John’s Lodge No. 1 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Lyman Spalding, received this jewel after his term as Master of his lodge. Silversmith Timothy Gerrish, a member of St. John’s Lodge, made this jewel— one of at least six he crafted for his lodge Brethren.

Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning, 1918. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library. Composer and lyricist Irving Berlin is one of America’s most beloved songwriters. Berlin was a devoted Mason. He was a member of New York City’s Munn Lodge No. 190, a 32° Scottish Rite Mason, and an inductee into the Masonic Hall of Fame.

Pennant, 1950. Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts, GL2004.3395. Julia Featheringill Photography. On August 13, 1950, members of African American Masonic groups across the country gathered in Boston, Massachusetts, to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the founding of African Lodge No. 459. Souvenirs, like this pennant, helped commemorate the event.

Oklahoma Masonic Indian Degree Team, A.F. & A.M., Tulsa, Oklahoma, ca. 1955. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, A96/066/4333. In 1948, Native American Freemasons formed the Oklahoma Masonic Indian Degree team. This team traveled to lodges across the United States staging the Master Mason degree. Members wore regalia from their respective tribes while staging parts of the degree.

Tyler, 1865-1875. Photograph by R. I. Smith, Austin, Minnesota. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, 88.42.38. Wearing an apron with an emblem of two crossed swords on it and carrying a sword, this Minnesota Freemason likely served as the Tyler of his lodge.

A view of “The Masonic Hall of Fame: Extraordinary Freemasons in American History” at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library.

Museum objects on display in “The Masonic Hall of Fame: Extraordinary Freemasons in American History.”

Visitors to the exhibition are invited to send us pictures of events at their lodge or Valley for our “Masons Today” slide show.

For more information about the exhibition and the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, visit srmml.org.