40°44′31″N73°59′31″W/ 40.742°N 73.992°W
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| Formation | December 7, 1757 |
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| Location | |
| Affiliations | Grand Lodge of New York |
| Website | www |
St. John's Lodge No. 1 A.Y.M.in New York City, United States, is the oldest operatingMasonic Lodgeunder the jurisdiction of theGrand Lodge of New YorkFree and Accepted Masons. The lodge was originally warranted as St. John's Lodge No. 2 on December 7, 1757 by George Harison, Esq. of the ProvincialGrand Lodge of New Yorkunder theGrand Lodge of England(Moderns).[1][2]
History
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The lodge originally met onAnn StreetinNew York City.In 1770, a fire destroyed St. John's Lodge room, along with their lodge jewels and furniture. A new set ofby-lawswas adopted in 1773 and was signed by 70 members of the lodge. The lodge purchased a new altar bible in November 1770 which was used inthe first Presidential Inaugurationand is now known as theGeorge Washington Inaugural Bible.[3][4][5][6]
At the start of theAmerican Revolutionary Warin 1775, the members of St. John’s Lodge who supported the Colonies’ independence seized the lodge’s warrant, and fledNew York City.[7]These exiled members held gatherings at theFishkill Supply DepotinFishkill, New York,until the end of the war in 1783, when they returned to New York City with the warrant, while many Masons who supported theBritish fledtoCanada.[8]
In 1789, St. John’s was acknowledged as the oldestMasonic lodgeinNew York State,and was designated as Number 1. A new charter was then conveyed to St. John’s Lodge, under which charter the lodge is still working.[9]
Notable members
edit- Edward Antill– Lt. Colonel in theRevolutionary War
- Abraham Baldwin– AmericanFounding Fatherand first president of theUniversity of Georgia
- Joshua Bloomer – First graduate ofKing's College(nowColumbia University)[10]
- Ebenezer Foote – Major in theRevolutionary War
- Jacob Morton– Marshal for theFirst inauguration of George Washington
- John Ramage– Miniature artist and Second Lieutenant in theRevolutionary War
- José Miguel Carrera– Chilean general and one of the founders of independentChile
Notes
edit- ^Heinmiller, Gary."Craft Masonry in Manhattan, New York County, New York"(PDF).Onondaga & Oswego Masonic Districts Historical Societies.
- ^"Oldest Lodges in the United States".The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Florida.
- ^"The Bible".St. John's Lodge No. 1 Foundation.
- ^"The very first inauguration".YouTube.CBS News.
- ^"Washington Inaugural Bible".YouTube.City of Plano Texas.
- ^"George Washington's Inaugural Bible In Tulsa Today Only".YouTube.KJRH-TV, Tulsa, Channel 2.
- ^"TimesMachine: Sunday December 1, 1957 - NYTimes.com".The New York Times.Retrieved2023-10-07.
- ^Early History and Transactions of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, 1781-1815, Volume 1.Masonic and Miscellaneous Publishers. 1876. p. 47.
- ^"History of St. John's Lodge No. 1".St. John’s Lodge No. 1 A.Y.M.Retrieved4 March2020.
- ^Columbia College (New York, N. Y. ) (1826).Catalogue of Columbia College in the City of New-York: embracing the names of its trustees, officers, and graduates, together with a list of all academical honours conferred by the institution from A.D. 1758 to A.D. 1826, inclusive.U.S. National Library of Medicine. New York: Printed by T. and J. Swords.