Alabama Masonic Lodges

About Freemasonry in Alabama

A deep look at Masonic history, the oldest lodges, the admission process, and notable Freemasons connected to Alabama.

History of Freemasonry in Alabama

Freemasonry took root in Alabama well before Alabama was even a state. The earliest documented lodge activity in the territory traces back to 1811, when Madison Lodge began meeting in Huntsville under a charter granted by the Grand Lodge of Kentucky. A handful of other early lodges were chartered out of Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina before Alabama had its own governing body, which is pretty common for frontier-era Masonry. As settlers pushed into what was then the Mississippi Territory, lodges followed the wagons.

By the time Alabama became a state in December 1819, several lodges were already active in towns like Huntsville, Cahaba, St. Stephens, and Mobile. The Grand Lodge of Alabama, Free and Accepted Masons, was chartered in June 1821 in Cahaba, which was the state's first capital. Thomas W.

Farrar served as the first Grand Master. From day one, Alabama Masons were bound up with the political life of the new state. Members of the early conventions, the territorial legislature, and the constitutional drafting committees were largely drawn from lodge rolls. The Civil War hit Alabama Masonry hard.

Many lodges suspended labor during the 1860s as members went off to fight, and a few never reopened. Lodge halls in Selma, Tuscaloosa, and Mobile were used variously as hospitals, meeting halls, and refugee shelters. After the war, Reconstruction brought a slow rebuilding of the fraternity, and by the 1880s membership had recovered and was climbing again. The 20th century saw Alabama Masonry peak in the post-WWII years, when the Grand Lodge counted well over 50,000 members.

The Masonic Home for Children at Montgomery, founded in 1912, became one of the Grand Lodge's signature charitable works and is still operating today. Alabama Masonry today maintains its headquarters in Montgomery and continues a tradition that's now a little over two centuries deep.

Oldest and Most Historic Lodges in Alabama

Madison Lodge No. 21 in Huntsville is the oldest continuously operating Masonic lodge in Alabama. It was originally chartered in 1811 by the Grand Lodge of Kentucky as Madison Lodge No. 22, then re-chartered under the new Grand Lodge of Alabama in 1821 with the number 21.

Several Alabama governors and U.S. senators passed through its rolls. Halo Lodge No. 14 (originally Halcyon Lodge), chartered in Mobile in 1812 under the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, has the distinction of being one of the only Alabama lodges to have operated under three different Grand Lodge jurisdictions before settling under Alabama in 1821.

Alabama Lodge No. 3 in Tuscaloosa, chartered in 1821, is one of the trio of original Alabama Grand Lodge constituent lodges and met for many years near the University of Alabama campus. Cahaba Lodge No. 5, while no longer active, met in the original state capital and was the literal birthplace of the Grand Lodge of Alabama in 1821.

Andrew Jackson Lodge No. 173 in Tuscumbia traces its roots to the 1820s and is named, predictably, for the seventh president (himself a Mason from Tennessee). Mobile Lodge No. 40 in Mobile is one of the largest historic lodges in the state, meeting in a building rich with Civil War-era memorabilia.

Selma Lodge No. 27 in Selma, chartered in 1822, played a notable role during Reconstruction and counts a number of state legislators among its past members. Each of these lodges has weathered war, economic depression, and population shifts, and they're all worth a visit if you happen to be passing through.

Alabama Masonic Lodges by the Numbers

The Grand Lodge of Alabama F&AM oversees approximately 270 active Masonic lodges scattered across the state, organized into roughly 40 numbered districts. Total membership in mainstream (non-Prince Hall) Alabama Masonry sits in the neighborhood of 22,000 to 25,000 Master Masons as of recent annual reports, though that number has been gently declining for decades, mirroring trends across most American Grand Lodges. Lodge density is highest around Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery, and Huntsville, with a long tail of small-town lodges in places like Decatur, Dothan, Tuscaloosa, and Auburn. Many rural Alabama counties still have one or two active lodges that serve as the most meaningful civic institution in town outside of churches.

The Grand Lodge meets annually in Montgomery, typically in November, and also runs the Masonic Home for Children, the Knight Templar Eye Foundation, and several scholarship programs. The Alabama Masonic Foundation directs charitable giving across the state. For current numbers, district maps, and a lodge locator, the official source is glalabama.com, which also publishes annual proceedings.

How to Become a Freemason in Alabama

Becoming a Mason in Alabama follows the standard three-degree path used across most U.S. jurisdictions, with a few state-specific touches. The first step is finding a lodge in your area, which you can do through glalabama.com or by simply showing up to a public dinner or open event. Alabama, like every Grand Lodge in the U.S., requires that you ask to join (you've heard the phrase '2B1ASK1').

After expressing interest, you'll fill out a petition. Alabama requires two current members of the lodge to sign your petition as recommenders, and they should ideally know you reasonably well. Once submitted, the lodge appoints an investigating committee of three Master Masons to interview you and your family, then they report back to the lodge. The lodge votes by secret ballot, and a single black ball will reject the petition.

Fees in Alabama generally run between $150 and $400 for the three degrees combined, depending on the individual lodge. Annual dues typically fall in the $80 to $150 range. After acceptance you'll receive the Entered Apprentice degree, then progress through Fellow Craft and Master Mason over a period of weeks to several months. Alabama requires proficiency demonstrations between degrees, where you'll memorize and recite portions of the previous degree's catechism.

The Grand Lodge of Alabama sets minimum standards, but each lodge handles the schedule and pace individually.

Notable Alabama Freemasons in History

Andrew Jackson Lodge in Alabama is named for President Andrew Jackson, who, while a member of Tennessee lodges, had deep Alabama ties through his military campaigns and political alliances. Sam Houston, born in Virginia and famous as the founder of Texas, was raised in Cumberland Lodge No. 8 (Tennessee) but spent formative years in Alabama and was active in Alabama Masonic circles before heading west. William Lowndes Yancey, the prominent antebellum Alabama politician and orator, was a member of Centerville Lodge in Alabama.

George Washington Carver, the agricultural scientist at the Tuskegee Institute, was a Prince Hall Mason and remains one of the most celebrated Alabama-affiliated Masons of any era. Hugo Black, U.S. Senator from Alabama and later Supreme Court Justice, was a member of Birmingham's Robert E. Lee Lodge No.

372 and remained active in Masonic circles even after his appointment to the bench. John Tyler Morgan, U.S. Senator and Confederate brigadier general, was active in Selma-area Masonry during the late 19th century. Joseph Wheeler, the Confederate cavalry general who later served in the U.S.

House and as a U.S. general in the Spanish-American War, held membership in northern Alabama lodges. These Alabamians span the political spectrum and the centuries, and their lodge affiliations are documented in Grand Lodge records and proceedings preserved in Montgomery.

Prince Hall Freemasonry in Alabama

Prince Hall Freemasonry has a long and significant history in Alabama. The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Alabama F&AM was chartered in 1870 in Mobile, just five years after the end of the Civil War, making it one of the earliest Prince Hall Grand Lodges established in the Deep South. Its founding was a direct outgrowth of African American communities organizing fraternal and civic institutions during Reconstruction. The Grand Lodge headquarters is in Birmingham, and it currently oversees more than 200 subordinate lodges across the state.

Recognition between the predominantly white Grand Lodge of Alabama F&AM and the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge has been a slow story. Mainstream-Prince Hall recognition was extended by the Grand Lodge of Alabama in 2011, making Alabama one of the later Southern states to formalize fraternal recognition. The two Grand Lodges now permit limited inter-visitation and recognize each other's degrees. Prince Hall lodges in Alabama played quiet but real roles in the Civil Rights era, with members involved in voter registration drives in places like Selma and Birmingham.

Notable Alabama Prince Hall Masons include George Washington Carver, civil rights leader Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, and many local pastors, educators, and businessmen. The Prince Hall Grand Lodge maintains scholarship programs and youth initiatives across the state and remains a foundational institution in Black civic life in Alabama.

Frequently Asked Questions about Masonic Lodges in Alabama

Sources & Further Reading

• https://glalabama.com
• https://encyclopediaofalabama.org
• https://archives.alabama.gov
• https://www.mwphglal.org