Pennsylvania Masonic Lodges

About Freemasonry in Pennsylvania

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

History of Freemasonry in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is, without exaggeration, one of the most important states in American Masonic history. The story starts in Philadelphia, the cosmopolitan capital of British colonial America, where Masonic activity is documented as early as the 1720s. Some sources suggest a lodge was meeting in Philadelphia by 1727. What is certain is that by 1730, a 'Mr.

Daniel Coxe of New Jersey' had been deputized as Provincial Grand Master of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania by the Grand Lodge of England, the first such appointment in the Americas. Benjamin Franklin, then a young printer, joined St. John's Lodge in Philadelphia in 1731. He went on to print the first Masonic book in North America in 1734, a reprint of Anderson's Constitutions, which is considered a landmark in American Masonic history.

Franklin later served as Provincial Grand Master of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania's Grand Lodge has a complicated dual heritage. The Moderns (the original English Grand Lodge) chartered the first Pennsylvania Grand Lodge in the 1730s. In 1761, the Antient Grand Lodge of England (the rival faction founded in 1751) chartered a second Provincial Grand Lodge in Pennsylvania.

After the Revolution, the Antient Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania declared itself independent on September 25, 1786, becoming the second sovereign Grand Lodge in America after Massachusetts (which declared in 1782). Pennsylvania kept the Antient ritual style and to this day uses what it calls Ancient Craft work, which is distinct from the rituals used in most other American jurisdictions. The Pennsylvania Grand Lodge built the famous Masonic Temple at One North Broad Street in Philadelphia between 1868 and 1873, a Norman Gothic masterpiece often called one of the architectural wonders of American Masonry. Through the 19th and 20th centuries, Pennsylvania remained one of the largest Masonic jurisdictions in the world, peaking at over 250,000 members in the 1920s.

Oldest and Most Historic Lodges in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania's oldest lodges are some of the oldest in the entire United States. Lodge No. 2 (originally St. John's Lodge of Philadelphia) traces its working back to about 1730 and is one of the oldest continuously operating lodges in North America.

The famous 'B' Lodge, where Benjamin Franklin was raised, was the original St. John's Lodge in Philadelphia. Lodge No. 3 in Philadelphia, originally known as Tun Tavern Lodge, dates to the early 1730s and gets its name from the famous Tun Tavern, which was also the birthplace of the U.S.

Marine Corps. Lodge No. 9 in Philadelphia, formed under the Antient charter, is another colonial-era lodge with continuous operation. In Lancaster, Lodge No.

43 was chartered in 1785 and remains a fixture in that historic Pennsylvania Dutch town. Williamsport's Lodge No. 106 dates to the early 1800s. Pittsburgh's Lodge No.

45, chartered in 1785, is the oldest in western Pennsylvania. The Masonic Temple at One North Broad Street in Philadelphia, completed in 1873, is itself a Masonic treasure. Designed by James Windrim and built in Norman Gothic style, the Temple contains seven elaborately decorated lodge rooms, each in a different historical theme: Ionic, Corinthian, Egyptian, Renaissance, Norman, Oriental, and Gothic. The Temple is open for public tours and is a designated National Historic Landmark.

The Library and Museum at the Masonic Temple holds George Washington's Masonic apron, embroidered by Madame Lafayette and gifted to him in 1784, plus thousands of artifacts ranging from colonial Masonic regalia to documents signed by Franklin and other founders. Few Masonic museums in the world rival its colonial-era American holdings.

Pennsylvania Masonic Lodges by the Numbers

Pennsylvania remains one of the largest Masonic jurisdictions in the United States and the world. Active membership is currently in the range of 80,000 to 90,000 master Masons across approximately 380 chartered lodges, down from a 20th-century peak of more than 250,000 members. The state has lodges in every county, with major concentrations in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Erie, Reading, and Scranton. The Grand Lodge headquarters and the Masonic Temple at One North Broad Street in Philadelphia are major tourist attractions and host year-round events.

Pennsylvania's Masonic charity is anchored by the Masonic Villages, a network of retirement and care facilities serving thousands of seniors across the state, and by the Pennsylvania Masonic Children's Home in Elizabethtown. The state's Scottish Rite is one of the strongest in North America, with major Valleys in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Allentown, and Reading. The York Rite is similarly active. The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania holds its annual Grand Communication each December in Philadelphia.

How to Become a Freemason in Pennsylvania

Joining a Pennsylvania lodge follows a process that is somewhat distinctive within American Masonry. The basic qualifications are standard: a man at least 18 years of age (Pennsylvania moved from 21 to 18 in line with most other jurisdictions), of good moral character, professing belief in a Supreme Being, and a resident of Pennsylvania or with permission of the lodge. The first step is to find a lodge. The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania's website includes a directory, and many lodges hold open events, dinners, and historical tours where curious visitors can meet members.

After connecting with a lodge, a candidate fills out a petition that requires recommenders who are members of that lodge. Petition fees in Pennsylvania vary by lodge, generally falling between 200 and 500 dollars, often inclusive of the first year of dues. Once submitted, the petition goes through investigation: a small committee meets with the candidate to discuss expectations and answer his questions. The lodge votes by secret ballot.

If favorable, the candidate is scheduled for the Entered Apprentice degree. Pennsylvania uses a distinctive ritual style. Often called Ancient Craft, the Pennsylvania ritual differs in wording, structure, and certain symbolic emphases from the rituals worked in most other American jurisdictions. This descends from the Antient Grand Lodge tradition that Pennsylvania never fully abandoned.

The state confers the same three Blue Lodge degrees, but the experience is recognizably Pennsylvania-flavored. Total time from petition to Master Mason typically runs eight to fifteen months in Pennsylvania, slightly longer than the national average due to additional ritual requirements.

Notable Pennsylvania Freemasons in History

Pennsylvania's Masonic roster is a who's who of American history. Benjamin Franklin tops the list. Franklin was raised in St. John's Lodge of Philadelphia in 1731, served as Provincial Grand Master of Pennsylvania from 1734 to 1735, and remained an active Mason throughout his life.

He printed the first Masonic book in America in 1734. James Wilson, signer of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Supreme Court Justice, was a Pennsylvania Mason. Robert Morris, the Financier of the Revolution, was also a Mason.

Stephen Girard, the wealthy Philadelphia merchant who funded Girard College, was a member of Lodge No. 51 in Philadelphia. James Buchanan, the 15th U.S. President and the only president from Pennsylvania, was raised in Lancaster Lodge No.

43 in 1816. Andrew W. Mellon, the financier and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, was a Pittsburgh Mason.

Industrialist Henry C. Frick was a Mason. The list of Pennsylvania-Mason military figures includes General George Marshall, who organized the U.S. Army in World War II and later created the Marshall Plan.

Marshall was raised in a Pennsylvania lodge while attending the Virginia Military Institute. Famous Pennsylvania Masons in entertainment include Bill Cosby (whose Masonic membership has been documented), Audie Murphy briefly, and several Philadelphia and Pittsburgh civic leaders. Many Past Grand Masters of Pennsylvania served as university presidents, governors, and federal judges, reflecting the Grand Lodge's deep integration with the state's civic elite.

Prince Hall Freemasonry in Pennsylvania

The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania has one of the deepest histories in American Prince Hall Masonry. Its parent body, the African Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, was constituted on June 22, 1815 in Philadelphia, making it the second oldest Prince Hall Grand Lodge after the original African Grand Lodge of Boston. Philadelphia was a major center of free Black community life in the early 19th century, with figures like Absalom Jones (the first African American Episcopal priest) and Richard Allen (founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church) deeply connected to early Prince Hall Masonry there. The Grand Lodge headquarters has long been in Philadelphia, in a historic Masonic building, and the jurisdiction today oversees more than 100 active subordinate lodges across Pennsylvania, with strong presences in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Allentown, and Erie.

Membership is estimated at 5,000 to 7,000 master Masons. The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania has been a leader in civic engagement, civil rights advocacy, scholarship support, and youth mentorship for over two centuries. Mutual recognition between the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania (mainstream) and the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania was extended in 2006 after years of dialogue, and the two bodies now permit inter-visitation between their lodges. Joint cornerstone ceremonies and charitable projects are now common.

Pennsylvania Prince Hall Masonry also includes the Order of the Eastern Star, Heroines of Jericho, the youth orders, and the Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

Frequently Asked Questions about Masonic Lodges in Pennsylvania

Sources & Further Reading

• https://pagrandlodge.org/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Lodge_of_Pennsylvania
• https://pamasonictemple.org/
• https://www.mwphglpa.org/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masonic_Temple_(Philadelphia)