Colorado Masonic Lodges

About Freemasonry in Colorado

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

History of Freemasonry in Colorado

Colorado's Masonic story is rooted in the silver and gold rushes that transformed the Rocky Mountain frontier in the 1850s and 1860s. Before the rushes, the region was sparsely populated and Masonry essentially absent. The 1858-59 Pike's Peak Gold Rush changed that overnight. Thousands of fortune seekers, many of them Masons, poured into the territory and quickly began organizing lodges.

The first chartered lodge in what would become Colorado was Auraria Lodge No. 156 (later renumbered), chartered in 1859 in Auraria (now part of Denver) under the Grand Lodge of Kansas. Within a few years, additional lodges were chartered out of Kansas, Nebraska, and other midwestern jurisdictions to serve the booming mining camps in Central City, Black Hawk, Golden, and Denver. By 1861, three lodges existed in Colorado Territory under various charters: Golden City Lodge No.

1, Summit Lodge No. 2, and Rocky Mountain Lodge No. 3. They convened on August 2, 1861, in Golden City and formed the Grand Lodge of Colorado A.F.

& A.M., with Henry Teller (later U.S. Senator and Secretary of the Interior) playing a leadership role. Colorado became a state in 1876 (the 'Centennial State,' admitted in the centennial year of the Declaration of Independence), and Masonry was deeply integrated with the political class that drove statehood. The silver crash of 1893 devastated mining-town lodges, but membership rebounded with the agricultural and tourism economies of the early 20th century.

Colorado Masonry maintains the Colorado Masonic Benevolent Fund, the Masonic Home in Colorado Springs, and youth programs across the state. The Grand Lodge has its headquarters in Colorado Springs. The post-WWII suburban boom along the Front Range, followed by the ski-resort and tech-industry growth of the 1970s through 2000s, reshaped Colorado Masonry from a mining-town fraternity into one centered in metropolitan and suburban communities.

Oldest and Most Historic Lodges in Colorado

Golden City Lodge No. 1 in Golden, originally chartered in 1860 under the Grand Lodge of Kansas and renumbered as No. 1 when the Grand Lodge of Colorado formed in 1861, is the oldest Masonic lodge in Colorado. The historic Golden lodge building remains a landmark in downtown Golden.

Summit Lodge No. 2 in Parkville (a long-vanished mining town) and later Breckenridge holds the second-oldest charter from the 1861 founding. Rocky Mountain Lodge No. 3 in Gold Hill (Boulder County) is the third of the three original founding lodges.

Central Lodge No. 6 in Central City, chartered in the early 1860s, served the rich silver mining district that produced more wealth than the California Gold Rush in some years. Colorado Lodge No. 5 in Denver, chartered in the early 1860s, became the flagship Denver lodge for decades.

Chivington Lodge No. 6 in Denver (named for John Chivington, the controversial Civil War colonel) was chartered in the 1860s. Pueblo Lodge No. 17 in Pueblo, chartered in the late 1860s, served the southern Colorado iron and railroad city.

Leadville Lodge No. 51 in Leadville, chartered during the 1870s silver boom, was once one of the largest lodges in Colorado, meeting in a city that briefly rivaled Denver in population. Aspen Lodge No. 96 in Aspen, chartered in the 1880s during the silver boom, met in a town that has since transformed from mining camp to ski resort.

Each of these lodges traces a piece of Colorado's mining-frontier history, and most still meet today.

Colorado Masonic Lodges by the Numbers

The Grand Lodge of Colorado A.F. & A.M. oversees approximately 130 to 140 active subordinate lodges across the state, organized into roughly 30 districts. Total mainstream Masonic membership in Colorado sits at approximately 9,000 to 10,500 Master Masons, a number that has declined from a 1960s peak but remains relatively healthy.

Lodge density is highest along the Front Range corridor: Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Boulder, and Fort Collins. Mountain and Western Slope lodges are smaller but historically significant, including lodges in Aspen, Glenwood Springs, Durango, Leadville, and Grand Junction. The Grand Lodge meets annually, typically in January in Colorado Springs. The Colorado Masonic Benevolent Fund and the Masonic Home in Colorado Springs anchor the Grand Lodge's charitable work.

For current lodge information, district maps, and a lodge locator, the official source is coloradofreemasons.org. The site also publishes annual Grand Lodge proceedings and an events calendar.

How to Become a Freemason in Colorado

Joining a Colorado Masonic lodge follows the mainstream three-degree process with Colorado-specific procedures set by the Grand Lodge of Colorado A.F. & A.M. Start by locating a lodge through coloradofreemasons.org or LodgeFinder. As always, you must ask to join.

Visit a lodge for a public dinner, open house, or 'Friends to Lodge' event to meet members. When ready to petition, you'll fill out a petition for the Entered Apprentice degree, with two current Colorado Master Masons in good standing signing as recommenders. Colorado requires petitioners to be at least 18 years old, of good moral character, a believer in a Supreme Being, and a Colorado resident for a defined period. The lodge appoints an investigating committee of three Master Masons who will interview you, and after their report the lodge votes by secret ballot.

A single black ball rejects the petition. Fees in Colorado typically range from $200 to $500 for the three degrees combined, with annual dues in the $80 to $200 range depending on the lodge. The Grand Lodge of Colorado is the sole authority for mainstream Craft Masonry in the state, and individual lodges set their own fee structures within Grand Lodge guidelines. After acceptance, you progress through Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason over a typical three-to-six-month period, with proficiency examinations between each degree.

Notable Colorado Freemasons in History

Henry M. Teller, U.S. Senator from Colorado for nearly 30 years and Secretary of the Interior under President Arthur, was a foundational figure in Colorado Masonry and helped organize the Grand Lodge in 1861. Otto Mears, the Colorado road and railroad builder known as the 'Pathfinder of the San Juans,' was a prominent Mason.

James B. Grant, third governor of Colorado and a major silver mining figure, was a Mason. Horace Tabor, the Leadville silver king and U.S. Senator briefly, was a member of Leadville Lodge during its glory years.

Henry C. Brown, builder of the famous Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, was a Mason. Spencer Penrose, the Colorado Springs entrepreneur who built the Broadmoor Hotel and the Pikes Peak Highway, had Masonic affiliations. Casimiro Barela, the Colorado state senator who served for 40 years and was instrumental in protecting Hispanic land grants, was a Mason in southern Colorado.

Several Colorado governors and Denver mayors have been Masons. The state's Masonic legacy is heavily intertwined with the silver and gold mining industries, the railroad expansion, and the early statehood political class. Many of these notable Colorado Masons have buildings, mountains, or counties named after them, including Teller County in central Colorado.

Prince Hall Freemasonry in Colorado

The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Colorado was chartered in 1876, the same year Colorado became a state, making it one of the earliest western Prince Hall Grand Lodges. Its founding reflects the active African American community in Denver, Pueblo, and the mining districts during the territorial and early statehood period. The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Colorado oversees approximately 15 to 20 subordinate lodges, with concentrations in Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo. Membership is modest in absolute numbers but historically active in civic life.

Recognition between the Grand Lodge of Colorado A.F. & A.M. and the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Colorado was extended in 1991, placing Colorado among the earliest western states to formally recognize Prince Hall Masonry. Inter-visitation between the two jurisdictions is regularly practiced.

Colorado Prince Hall Masonry has been deeply involved in civil rights activism, particularly in Denver's Five Points neighborhood, which was historically the cultural and civic heart of Black Denver. Notable Colorado Prince Hall Masons have included civic leaders, ministers, educators, and several state legislators and Denver City Council members. The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Colorado maintains charitable programs and youth initiatives and remains a respected institution in Black community life across the state.

Frequently Asked Questions about Masonic Lodges in Colorado

Sources & Further Reading

• https://coloradofreemasons.org
• https://www.historycolorado.org
• https://www.denverlibrary.org
• https://mwphglco.org