Oklahoma Masonic Lodges

About Freemasonry in Oklahoma

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

History of Freemasonry in Oklahoma

Oklahoma's Masonic story is unusual because the state itself was, for most of the 19th century, two separate entities: Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory. Lodges existed in both, and they had to merge before there could be a single Grand Lodge. The earliest Masonic activity in what became Oklahoma traces to the 1840s and 1850s, when missionaries, traders, and members of the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole) chartered lodges under the authority of Arkansas. Cherokee Lodge No.

21, working in Tahlequah, the Cherokee Nation capital, was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Arkansas in 1848 and is one of the very oldest lodges still operating in the state. Several prominent Cherokee leaders were Masons, including Chief Stand Watie, the Confederate brigadier general, and his brother Elias Boudinot. After the Civil War, more lodges sprang up across Indian Territory, often working with mixed memberships of Native Americans, white settlers, and African Americans depending on local custom. In 1874, the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory was formed in Caddo.

Meanwhile, after the 1889 land run opened the Unassigned Lands to white settlement, Oklahoma Territory grew rapidly, and in 1892 the Grand Lodge of Oklahoma Territory was formed. When the two territories were merged into the State of Oklahoma in 1907, the two Grand Lodges followed suit. On February 12, 1909, the two bodies merged in Oklahoma City to form the Grand Lodge of Oklahoma. The new Grand Lodge inherited a deep, multicultural Masonic heritage that included Indigenous brothers, Confederate and Union veterans, oil boom settlers, and farmers.

The state's first decades saw breakneck growth driven by the oil boom, and Oklahoma became one of the largest Grand Lodges in the South-Central United States. Today the Grand Lodge is headquartered in Guthrie, the original state capital, in a stunning Masonic temple built between 1921 and 1929.

Oldest and Most Historic Lodges in Oklahoma

Cherokee Lodge No. 10, originally chartered in 1848 by the Grand Lodge of Arkansas in Tahlequah, is the granddaddy of Oklahoma Masonry. Tahlequah was the political capital of the Cherokee Nation, and the lodge's early roster reads like a who's who of Cherokee leadership in the second half of the 19th century. Choctaw Lodge in Doaksville, Flint Lodge in the Choctaw Nation, and Muskogee Lodge No.

28 in Creek country were all chartered before statehood under Arkansas authority. After the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory formed in 1874, dozens of new lodges joined in towns like Atoka, McAlester, Vinita, and Eufaula. In Oklahoma Territory, Guthrie Lodge No. 2 (chartered 1889 right after the land run), Oklahoma City Lodge No.

36, and Kingfisher Lodge No. 8 were among the earliest. After the 1909 merger, the Grand Lodge renumbered things, and several pioneer lodges traded their original numbers for new ones in the unified system. Cherokee Lodge ended up as No.

10 in the new register. The Guthrie Scottish Rite Temple, completed in stages between 1921 and 1929, is one of the architectural marvels of American Masonry. It has been called the largest Masonic building in the world by some measures and contains a 1,500-seat auditorium, a massive pipe organ, and ornate ritual chambers. Several lodges meet in historic buildings dating to the early oil boom: the Tulsa Masonic Temple, the Oklahoma City Masonic Temple, and the Bartlesville Masonic Temple.

The state also preserves a number of pre-statehood lodge halls in towns like Vinita, Tahlequah, and Atoka, where the original square and compasses signage often still hangs.

Oklahoma Masonic Lodges by the Numbers

Oklahoma is a mid-sized Masonic jurisdiction. Active membership is currently in the range of 18,000 to 20,000 master Masons across roughly 220 chartered lodges, down from a peak of more than 70,000 members in the early 1960s. The largest concentrations of Masons are in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Norman, Edmond, Lawton, and Stillwater. The Grand Lodge holds its annual communication in Guthrie each February.

Oklahoma's Masonic charity is anchored by the Oklahoma Masonic Foundation, which funds scholarships and youth programs, and by the Masonic Charity Foundation of Oklahoma, which supports children's healthcare and disaster relief. The state's Scottish Rite is unusually strong because of the Guthrie Temple, which hosts massive class reunions twice a year. The York Rite is also well represented, with active Royal Arch chapters, Royal and Select Master councils, and Knights Templar commanderies in most of the larger cities.

How to Become a Freemason in Oklahoma

Petitioning a lodge in Oklahoma is straightforward. The qualifications are the standard ones: a man at least 18 years old, of good moral character, professing belief in a Supreme Being, and a resident of Oklahoma. The first step is to find a lodge nearby. The Grand Lodge of Oklahoma's website includes a lodge directory, and most lodges welcome visitors at their open dinners and pancake breakfasts.

After meeting a few brothers and asking questions, an interested candidate can request a petition form. Two members in good standing must sign as recommenders. Petition fees in Oklahoma generally fall in the 100 to 250 dollar range, with the first year's dues typically included in that fee. Once the petition is filed, an investigation committee meets with the candidate, often at home, to talk through the lodge's expectations and answer his questions.

The committee reports back, the lodge votes by secret ballot, and if the vote is favorable the candidate proceeds to the Entered Apprentice degree. Oklahoma works the standard three Blue Lodge degrees: Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason. There is a proficiency requirement between each degree, where the candidate must demonstrate basic memorization to a coach or in open lodge. The total time from petition to Master Mason in Oklahoma is typically six to twelve months, though some lodges run more concentrated schedules at special communications, especially in cooperation with the Guthrie Scottish Rite reunions.

Notable Oklahoma Freemasons in History

Oklahoma has produced an interesting and somewhat unconventional roster of famous Masons. Will Rogers, the cowboy humorist and movie star from Oolagah, was a member of Claremore Lodge No. 53 and remained loyal to it throughout his Hollywood years. Stand Watie, the Cherokee Confederate general, was a Mason in Cherokee Lodge before the Civil War.

Robert S. Kerr, who served as governor and U.S. Senator and was a giant of mid-century oil and politics, was a Mason. Patrick J.

Hurley, who was a U.S. Secretary of War and ambassador, was a member of an Oklahoma lodge before his diplomatic career. Albert Pike, the famous Scottish Rite scholar whose statue stood for many years in Washington, D.C., spent significant time in what is now Oklahoma, working with Native American Masons before moving on, though his official affiliation was with Arkansas. Astronaut Stuart Roosa, who flew on Apollo 14, was a Mason and famously brought tree seeds (the so-called moon trees) into orbit on behalf of his lodge.

Country music legend Roy Clark of Hee Haw fame was a Tulsa-area Mason. Jim Thorpe, the great Olympian and football player from the Sac and Fox tribe, was raised in a small-town Oklahoma lodge. Senator Carl Albert, a longtime Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, was a Mason from McAlester.

Prince Hall Freemasonry in Oklahoma

The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Oklahoma was constituted on August 8, 1893 in Muskogee, well before Oklahoma statehood, making it one of the earliest Prince Hall Grand Lodges established in the southern plains. African American Masons in Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory had been working under Arkansas, Texas, and Kansas Prince Hall jurisdictions before they organized their own. The Grand Lodge has its headquarters in Tulsa, in a historic Masonic temple in the Greenwood district. That location is significant: Greenwood was the heart of Tulsa's African American community and the site of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, in which the original Masonic temple was destroyed.

The temple was rebuilt and remains a center of community life. The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Oklahoma today has more than 80 active subordinate lodges and an estimated membership of 4,000 to 5,000 master Masons. Mutual recognition between the Grand Lodge of Oklahoma (mainstream) and the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Oklahoma was extended in 2018, one of the more recent Southern recognitions. The two jurisdictions now permit inter-visitation.

Prince Hall Oklahoma also includes a strong Eastern Star presence, the Heroines of Jericho, youth orders, and the Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. The Grand Lodge has been deeply involved in civil rights work, voter education, and scholarship funding for African American students at colleges and universities across the state.

Frequently Asked Questions about Masonic Lodges in Oklahoma

Sources & Further Reading

• https://www.gloklahoma.com/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Lodge_of_Oklahoma
• https://scottishritetempleguthrie.org/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Rogers
• https://www.mwphgloklahoma.com/