Minnesota Masonic Lodges

About Freemasonry in Minnesota

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

History of Freemasonry in Minnesota

Freemasonry rolled into Minnesota the way most things did during the territorial era: by riverboat, on horseback, and in the trunks of lumberjacks and homesteaders looking for a slice of the frontier. The first lodge in what would become Minnesota was Saint Paul Lodge No. 223, chartered in 1849 under the Grand Lodge of Ohio. That same year, Minnesota became a U.S.

territory, and the lodge predated statehood by nearly a decade. Pretty wild when you think about it - Masons were meeting in Saint Paul before Minnesota was even a state. By the time settlers had spread north into the pineries and west onto the prairies, lodges were popping up in mining camps, lumber towns, and grain ports along the Mississippi. The Grand Lodge of Minnesota was organized on February 23, 1853, in Saint Paul, when delegates from three lodges - Saint Paul No.

1, Saint John's No. 2 (Stillwater), and Cataract No. 3 (Saint Anthony) - gathered to form an independent grand jurisdiction. A.E.

Ames was elected the first Grand Master. From that point on, Minnesota Masonry grew alongside the state itself. The fraternity weathered the Civil War, the bitter Dakota War of 1862, the timber boom, the Iron Range expansion, and waves of Scandinavian and German immigration that gave Minnesota its distinctive character. By 1900, the Grand Lodge had chartered well over 200 lodges, and Saint Paul, Minneapolis, Duluth, and Winona had all become Masonic strongholds.

The Scottish Rite Cathedral in Minneapolis, dedicated in 1916, remains one of the most striking pieces of Masonic architecture in the Upper Midwest. Today, the Grand Lodge oversees roughly 130 active lodges across the state, with its headquarters in Bloomington. If you're curious about how a fraternity that started in colonial taverns ended up with deep roots on the prairie, Minnesota's story is a pretty good answer.

Oldest and Most Historic Lodges in Minnesota

Minnesota's three oldest lodges are essentially the founding family of the Grand Lodge, and they all still meet today. Saint Paul Lodge No. 1 was originally chartered in 1849 as Saint Paul Lodge No. 223 under Ohio, then renumbered as Lodge No.

1 when the Grand Lodge of Minnesota was formed in 1853. It's the senior lodge in the state, and it's been continuously active for more than 175 years - longer than Minnesota has existed as a state. Saint John's Lodge No. 1 (originally No.

2 before reorganization) in Stillwater is the second-oldest, chartered in 1850. Stillwater was a major lumber town on the Saint Croix River, and the lodge served generations of mill workers, raftsmen, and merchants. Cataract Lodge No. 2 in Minneapolis (formerly No.

3, chartered 1852) takes its name from Saint Anthony Falls, the cataract that powered the city's flour mills. These three lodges signed the original Grand Lodge constitution. A few other early lodges worth mentioning: Ancient Landmark Lodge No. 5 in Saint Paul, chartered in 1857, has hosted some of the state's most prominent Masons.

Khurum Lodge No. 112 in Minneapolis, named after the master craftsman of Solomon's Temple, dates to 1872 and remains active. In Duluth, Palestine Lodge No. 79 was chartered in 1869 and grew with the iron ore and shipping industries on Lake Superior.

Up on the Iron Range, Mesaba Lodge in Virginia and Mountain Iron Lodge served generations of miners. These older lodges aren't museum pieces - most still hold regular meetings, confer degrees, and serve as community anchors in towns where their building is sometimes the oldest brick structure on Main Street.

Minnesota Masonic Lodges by the Numbers

The Grand Lodge of Minnesota currently oversees approximately 130 active lodges and reports membership in the range of 7,500 to 8,500 Master Masons - down significantly from a 1959 peak of around 50,000 members, mirroring the broader nationwide trend in fraternal membership. Lodge density is highest in the Twin Cities metro (Saint Paul, Minneapolis, Bloomington, Edina, Saint Louis Park, Minnetonka), but you'll also find strong concentrations in Rochester, Duluth, Saint Cloud, Mankato, and Winona. Rural Minnesota still has dozens of small-town lodges in places like Brainerd, Hibbing, Bemidji, Fergus Falls, and Red Wing - some with fewer than 30 active members but still meeting twice a month. The Grand Lodge's annual communication typically takes place in April.

Minnesota Masonic Charities, the philanthropic arm, distributes millions of dollars annually to causes including the Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital partnership with the University of Minnesota, the Masonic Cancer Center, scholarships, and the Minnesota Masonic Home in Bloomington.

How to Become a Freemason in Minnesota

If you're a Minnesota guy thinking about joining, here's how it actually works. First, you need to be at least 18 years old (Minnesota changed from 21 to 18 some years back to align with most jurisdictions), believe in a Supreme Being - which is a hard requirement, though the Craft doesn't care which faith - and be of good character. The next step is finding a lodge. You can't just show up at a meeting; lodges are not open to non-members during ritual.

Instead, reach out to a lodge near you (LodgeFinder makes this easy), attend a public event like a pancake breakfast or open house, and ask to talk to a member about petitioning. Once you submit a petition, signed by two current members in good standing, an investigation committee of two or three Brothers will visit you at home, meet your family, and ask questions about your background, your reasons for wanting to join, and your understanding of what the fraternity is about. The committee reports back, the lodge votes by secret ballot, and if you're accepted you'll be scheduled for your Entered Apprentice degree. The Three Degrees - Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason - typically take a few months to complete, depending on the lodge's schedule and your study pace.

Fees vary by lodge but generally run $200 to $500 for initiation and $75 to $150 in annual dues. Some lodges offer one-day classes for the full Three Degrees, but most still confer them traditionally over weeks or months.

Notable Minnesota Freemasons in History

Minnesota has produced an interesting mix of notable Masons over the years. James J. Hill, the Empire Builder who created the Great Northern Railway and tied Saint Paul to Seattle, was a member of Saint Paul Lodge No. 3.

Cushman Davis, U.S. Senator from Minnesota and one of the negotiators of the Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American War, was a Mason. Frank B. Kellogg, a Minnesota lawyer who served as U.S.

Secretary of State and won the 1929 Nobel Peace Prize for the Kellogg-Briand Pact, was a member of Ancient Landmark Lodge No. 5 in Saint Paul. Harold Stassen, the famously persistent presidential candidate and former Minnesota governor, was a Freemason. In aviation, Charles Lindbergh - whose father was a Minnesota congressman, and who himself grew up in Little Falls - was raised in Keystone Lodge No.

243 in Saint Louis, Missouri, but he's claimed by Minnesota for obvious reasons. The state's Masonic ranks have included multiple governors, mayors of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, founders of major Minnesota businesses, university presidents, and judges. The Mayo brothers - William and Charles, founders of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester - were both Masons; their lodge memorabilia is still displayed at lodges in southern Minnesota. Whether you're talking railroad barons, Nobel laureates, or country doctors who built one of the world's great medical institutions, Minnesota's Masonic roster reads like a slice of Upper Midwest history.

Prince Hall Freemasonry in Minnesota

Prince Hall Freemasonry has a long and active presence in Minnesota, organized under the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Minnesota and Its Jurisdiction. Prince Hall Masonry traces its roots to 1775, when Prince Hall and 14 other free Black men were initiated into a military lodge attached to a British regiment in Boston. They later received a charter from the Grand Lodge of England as African Lodge No. 459, and from that lodge grew a parallel American Masonic tradition that paralleled mainstream Masonry through the long era when most state grand lodges refused to admit African Americans.

In Minnesota, Prince Hall lodges began organizing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, primarily in Saint Paul and Minneapolis where small but vibrant African American communities formed. The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Minnesota was chartered and oversees lodges including Pioneer Lodge No. 1 in Saint Paul and Saint John's No. 2 in Minneapolis, among others.

In 2002, the Grand Lodge of Minnesota A.F. & A.M. and the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Minnesota mutually recognized one another - meaning members of both jurisdictions can visit each other's lodges and Brothers can openly fellowship across the line that segregation once drew. Today, the two grand lodges cooperate on charitable initiatives and have a strong working relationship.

If you're researching your family history or looking for a Prince Hall lodge to visit, the Prince Hall Grand Lodge maintains its own directory and contact information.

Frequently Asked Questions about Masonic Lodges in Minnesota

Sources & Further Reading

• https://mn-mason.org/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Lodge_of_Minnesota
• https://mnmasoniccharities.org/
• https://www.mwphglmn.org/