Idaho Masonic Lodges

About Freemasonry in Idaho

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

History of Freemasonry in Idaho

Freemasonry came to Idaho with the gold rush. The first lodges in what would become Idaho Territory were established in the early 1860s, when miners, freighters, and merchants from California, Oregon, and Nevada poured into the Boise Basin and the Clearwater country chasing gold strikes. Idaho Lodge No. 1, the territory's first lodge, was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Oregon in 1863 in Idaho City, then a booming gold camp that briefly held more population than Portland.

Other early lodges followed quickly under Oregon and Washington warrants. By the late 1860s, enough Idaho lodges existed to consider organizing independently. The Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Idaho was constituted on December 17, 1867, when delegates from Idaho Lodge No. 1, Boise Lodge No.

2, Owyhee Lodge No. 5, and Pioneer Lodge No. 6 met in Idaho City. From those mining-camp origins, Idaho Masonry spread with the railroads, the timber industry, and the agricultural settlement of the Snake River Plain through the 1880s and 1890s.

Statehood came in 1890, by which point Masonic temples were established in Boise, Lewiston, Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Coeur d'Alene, and other key towns. The 20th century brought the construction of the Boise Masonic Temple, expansion through the Mormon-influenced southeastern counties, and the long stable period before the post-1960s membership decline that affected nearly every American jurisdiction.

Oldest and Most Historic Lodges in Idaho

Idaho's oldest lodges all trace back to the gold rush era of the 1860s. Idaho Lodge No. 1, originally chartered by the Grand Lodge of Oregon in 1863 in Idaho City, is the senior lodge of the state. Idaho City itself, while now a small mountain town, was once the territorial capital and the rowdiest mining camp in the Pacific Northwest.

Boise Lodge No. 2, also chartered in the mid-1860s, became the principal urban lodge as Boise grew into the territorial and then state capital. Owyhee Lodge No. 5 served the Silver City mining district in the southwestern Owyhee Mountains, where silver and lead ore was being pulled from rich veins through the 1860s and 1870s.

Pioneer Lodge No. 6 in Lewiston, the original territorial capital, served the Clearwater region and the Nez Perce country. Lewiston Lodge No. 4 is also among the early northern Idaho lodges.

War Eagle Lodge No. 7, named for the prominent Owyhee mountain peak, was another mining-era lodge. Bannock Lodge No. 4 in Pocatello, established as the railroad pushed across southern Idaho, became the principal lodge of the Snake River Plain.

Each of these early lodges holds substantial archives that are key sources for Idaho frontier history; the lodge minute books often contain the only documentation of who lived in mining camps before the camps disappeared.

Idaho Masonic Lodges by the Numbers

The Grand Lodge of Idaho is a mid-sized Western jurisdiction. It currently oversees approximately 60 to 75 active constituent lodges spread across the state, with combined membership estimated in the 4,000 to 6,000 range. Idaho is divided into a number of Masonic Districts, each headed by a District Deputy Grand Master, with concentrations of lodges in the Boise metro area, the Magic Valley around Twin Falls, the Idaho Falls and Pocatello region of the southeast, and the Coeur d'Alene/Lewiston corridor in the north. The Grand Lodge office is in Boise, and the official website at idahoaf-am.org provides the current lodge directory, district structure, calendar, and information for prospective members and visitors.

Idaho's geography, with its rugged terrain dividing the southern panhandle from the northern Idaho region, gives the state an unusually distinct two-zone Masonic culture, with northern lodges sometimes feeling closer to Spokane and Seattle than to Boise.

How to Become a Freemason in Idaho

To become a Mason in Idaho, you must be a man at least 18 years old, of good moral character, who professes belief in a Supreme Being. The standard process starts with an informal visit to a lodge near you. Most Idaho lodges are happy to host you for dinner before a stated meeting and answer your questions. To formally apply, you submit a petition signed by two Master Masons in good standing of that lodge.

The petition is read in open lodge, an investigation committee is appointed, and committee members will visit with you and your family at home. The lodge then takes a secret ballot, which must be unanimously favorable under Idaho Masonic Code. Fees in Idaho lodges generally range from $200 to $450 for the three degrees combined, with annual dues commonly between $100 and $250. The full process from petition to becoming a Master Mason typically takes six months to a year, including time to learn the proficiency examinations between degrees.

The Grand Lodge of Idaho A.F. & A.M. is the sole authority for chartering lodges and conferring the three Symbolic Lodge degrees in the state under the mainstream system. Idaho's smaller lodges, particularly in rural and mountain communities, often have a strong tradition of mentorship that newer brothers find genuinely useful.

Notable Idaho Freemasons in History

Idaho has produced several notable Freemasons across its 160-year Masonic history. William H. Wallace, the first Governor of Idaho Territory, was a Mason. Caleb Lyon, an early territorial governor and a flamboyant figure in Idaho politics, was a Mason.

George L. Shoup, the last territorial governor and the first state Governor of Idaho after statehood in 1890, was a Mason and a U.S. Senator. Edward A.

Stevenson, another early state governor, was a Mason. Frank Steunenberg, an Idaho Governor assassinated in 1905 in a labor-related case that became one of the most famous trials in Western history (the Haywood trial defended by Clarence Darrow), was a Mason. William Borah, the famed early-20th-century U.S. Senator known as the 'Lion of Idaho' for his oratory on the Senate floor, was a Mason and active in Boise lodges across more than three decades.

Cecil Andrus, four-term Idaho Governor and U.S. Secretary of the Interior under Carter, was a Mason. Senator Frank Church, a major figure in 20th-century U.S. foreign policy and head of the Church Committee investigating the intelligence agencies, was associated with Idaho Masonic circles.

Idaho also has Masonic ties to several Silver Valley mining magnates around the Coeur d'Alene district, Union Pacific railroad executives based in Pocatello, and agricultural pioneers in the Snake River Plain who built the state's irrigation-based economy. Many Idaho county sheriffs, judges, mayors, and businessmen across the late 19th and 20th centuries appear in Masonic records, frequently across multiple generations of the same families settled in the same small towns.

Prince Hall Freemasonry in Idaho

Prince Hall Masonry in Idaho is small in scale, reflecting the state's modest African American population, but it has a real history. For most of the 20th century, Idaho's African American Masons affiliated with Prince Hall lodges in neighboring states, particularly Washington and Oregon. The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Washington and its Jurisdiction has historically held authority over Prince Hall lodges in Idaho when local lodges existed. Prince Hall presence has been concentrated around military and railroad communities, particularly in Pocatello and the Mountain Home Air Force Base area in southern Idaho.

Mutual recognition between the mainstream Grand Lodge of Idaho and Prince Hall Grand Lodges (typically through the Washington jurisdiction) was established in the early 21st century, putting Idaho among the Western states that achieved formal recognition during that period of national change. The relatively small Prince Hall presence means that civil rights connections in Idaho are more often tied to the broader regional movement and the activities of military Masons stationed in the state. Today, Idaho's mainstream Grand Lodge formally recognizes Prince Hall and welcomes inter-visitation with Prince Hall brethren.

Frequently Asked Questions about Masonic Lodges in Idaho

Sources & Further Reading

• https://idahoaf-am.org/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Lodge_of_Idaho
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_City,_Idaho
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_L._Shoup