History
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The Origins of Freemasonry
Variously known as Freemasonry, Masonry or The Craft, the beginnings of our fraternity are lost to history. In the Middle Ages, the term “freemason” was awarded to highly skilled stonemasons who were hired as free agents to build castles and cathedrals in England and Scotland. Because of the inherent danger of their work, stonemasons formed local organizations, called lodges, to take care of sick and injured members as well as the widows and orphans of those who were killed on the job. Eventually, men who were not skilled stonemasons wanted to join the group for the many advantages it offered. These men were known as "accepted masons." This is how the group began to shift from a craft guild to a fraternity. Although Masonry is believed to be the oldest surviving fraternal organization in the world, the exact date of its founding is uncertain. Freemasonry can, however, be easily traced to sixteenth century Scotland although the first Masonic governing body was not founded until 1717 in London. The oldest Masonic document, the Regius poem, dates to around 1390 A.D. We know of no Masonry prior to that date. Somewhere between 1390 and 1717 lodges of operative masons began to accept as members men who did not work in the building trade. Eventually whole lodges composed of such persons arose, leading to a transition from lodges being composed of stone masons to lodges being composed of men from other occupations who gathered and shared a ritual replete with allusions to carpentry, architecture, and stone masonry.
In 1717, four of these lodges in England met and formed the first Grand Lodge. In 1718, English Freemasonry spread to France and Spain, and after 1729, to India, Italy, Poland, and Sweden. Freemasonry spread to other parts of Europe and eventually made its way to the American colonies. In 1733, the first American lodge was established in Boston, under the authority of the Grand Lodge of England. The United States now has grand lodges in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
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Grand Lodge Of Idaho Territory; The Beginning
By Jerry D. Parsons, Grand Historian
The Idaho Territory was created in 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill that created it. By then, there were many who had traveled to and through this mountainous and desert area.
Gold was discovered in the Boise Basin in 1862 and in the Owyhee Mountains thereafter. Among the many who ventured to the gold fields were Masons who populated new towns and cities to search for wealth. Boise City became a supply city for the gold towns of Idaho City (originally known as Bannock), Placerville,
Pioneerville, Centerville, Silver City and others that went by the wayside when the gold was depleted.
The Masons in Idaho City petitioned the Grand Lodge of Oregon for a dispensation to hold meetings in the bustling town of Idaho City. That dispensation was granted in 1863 with them becoming the first Masonic Lodge in Idaho still in existence. (There was an earlier Lodge formed in Lewiston but was short lived).
As the towns increased in population, Masonic Lodges were given dispensations to meet from the Grand Lodges of Oregon and Washington. Among them, Boise #37 and Placer #38 began meeting early in 1865.
The Brethren in Placerville saw a need for forming the Grand Lodge of Idaho Territory and corresponded with Idaho Lodge #35 and Boise Lodge #37 in June of 1865 to meet in Idaho City for the consideration of forming a Grand Lodge. With only three Lodges and 88 members, this meeting was not held.
In the next two years, Masonic Lodges were formed in Pioneerville (Boise Basin) and Silver City (Owyhee mountains). That brought together six Lodges that could form and sustain a Grand Lodge of Idaho Territory.
In June of 1867, Placer #38 again corresponded with the Lodges of Idaho Territory and requested them to send committees to Idaho City to meet and consider
the formation of a Grand Lodge of Idaho Territory. Committees were formed by Placer #38, Idaho #35, Pioneerville #12 (Washington), Boise #37 and Owyhee Lodge UD who agreed to meet in Idaho City on December 16, 1867. On December 17, 1867 the Grand Lodge of Idaho Territory was officially formed. They agreed to meet again in June of 1868 as a Grand Lodge and to approve a Constitution and By Laws and charter Lodges. They installed the Grand Lodge officers in July of that year which was led by Worshipful Brother George H. Coe, Idaho’s first Grand Master.
The original Masonic Lodge building in Idaho City was consumed by fire on May 18, 1865, when the city burned. The Masons of Idaho City rebuilt a Masonic
Lodge building and occupied it in September of 1865. It was a block from the original site and that building still stands and functions as a Masonic meeting
place. This building is historically known as the oldest Masonic Hall, where a Grand Lodge was formed and where they met in the years after, that still exists west of the Mississippi River.
The Lodges chartered in June of 1868 were Idaho #1, Boise #2, Placer #3, Pioneerville #4, Owyhee #5 and War Eagle #6. Pioneer #4 had their charter arrested in 1878. Owyhee #5 and War Eagle #6 consolidated in 1881 to form Silver City #13.
Since that time, the Grand Lodge of Idaho has expanded to its current 52 Lodges, Idaho Lodge of Research #1965 and two Historic Lodges; Idaho City Historic Lodge #1863 and Murray Historic Lodge #1886.