West Virginia Masonic Lodges
The complete directory of 31 Masonic lodges across 26 cities in West Virginia.
Top Rated Lodges in West Virginia
Grand Lodge of West Virginia
Grand Lodge of West Virginia F&AM
Founded in 1865
About Freemasonry in West Virginia
A deep look at Masonic history, the oldest lodges, the admission process, and notable Freemasons connected to West Virginia.
History of Freemasonry in West Virginia
West Virginia Masonry has a unique origin story because, well, West Virginia itself does. The state was carved out of Virginia during the Civil War in 1863, and Masonry in the new state had to be carved out of Virginia Masonic structures along the same political lines. The earliest lodges in what is now West Virginia operated under the Grand Lodge of Virginia going back to the colonial era. Wellsburg Lodge No.
12 (originally chartered by Virginia in 1796) is the oldest continuously operating lodge in the state, and other 18th and early 19th century lodges in towns like Charleston, Wheeling, Romney, and Martinsburg also have deep Virginia Masonic roots. When Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, the western counties refused to follow and eventually formed the new state of West Virginia in 1863. The Masons in those counties were caught in the middle. Some lodges remained loyal to the Grand Lodge of Virginia even after political separation; others wanted to form their own grand body.
After several years of negotiation and some ritual disputes, the Grand Lodge of West Virginia was formally organized on May 11, 1865, in Fairmont, with delegates from 18 lodges that had decided to break from Virginia. Thomas H. Logan was elected the first Grand Master. The Grand Lodge of Virginia was understandably unhappy about the split and didn't formally recognize the new West Virginia Grand Lodge until 1869, after some careful diplomatic work.
Once recognition was established, West Virginia Masonry grew steadily through the late 19th century along with the state's coal, timber, and railroad industries. The early 20th century brought continued growth, particularly in the boom towns of the southern coalfields and in the Northern Panhandle's industrial cities. Membership peaked in the 1950s along with the rest of American Masonry, and West Virginia has experienced steady decline since then, mirroring both national Masonic trends and the state's broader population decline. The state's Masonic identity remains tightly woven with its Appalachian and industrial heritage.
Oldest and Most Historic Lodges in West Virginia
Wellsburg Lodge No. 2 in Wellsburg (originally chartered by the Grand Lodge of Virginia as Wellsburg Lodge No. 12 in 1796) is the oldest continuously operating lodge in West Virginia. The lodge meets in a building with strong historical ties to the early Ohio River shipping community.
Charleston Lodge No. 20 (originally chartered as Kanawha Lodge No. 25 by Virginia in 1813) anchors the state capital and has long been one of the larger lodges in the state. Wheeling's Nelson Lodge No.
30, with origins going back to the early 19th century under Virginia, has a long history serving the industrial city of Wheeling. Romney Lodge No. 4 in Romney, in the Eastern Panhandle, has 19th-century roots and serves one of West Virginia's oldest towns. Morgan Lodge No.
16 in Morgantown (originally Virginia chartered) has long been associated with West Virginia University and the academic community there. Greenbrier Lodge No. 42 in Lewisburg has 19th-century roots and ties to the historic resort town. Parkersburg's Parkersburg Lodge No.
25 anchors the Mid-Ohio Valley. Many of West Virginia's oldest lodges have preserved minute books that document the Civil War era's strange double-loyalty period when lodges often had members serving on both sides of the war. The Wheeling Masonic Temple, completed in 1907, is one of the most architecturally significant Masonic buildings in the state. The Charleston Scottish Rite Cathedral, completed in 1928, is another notable Masonic building that anchors the state capital's downtown.
Several West Virginia lodges still meet in 19th century halls that have been carefully maintained and serve as informal local history museums.
West Virginia Masonic Lodges by the Numbers
The Grand Lodge of West Virginia is a mid-sized US Masonic jurisdiction. West Virginia currently has approximately 110 to 130 active subordinate lodges and somewhere around 10,000 to 12,500 active Master Masons. The state's Masonic population is concentrated in the northern industrial cities (Wheeling, Morgantown, Fairmont, Clarksburg, Parkersburg) and the Kanawha Valley around Charleston, with strong rural lodge presence in the southern coalfields and the Eastern Panhandle. The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of West Virginia, which is the separate but recognized African American grand body, adds approximately 15 to 25 additional lodges and several hundred more Master Masons.
West Virginia Masonic charity supports the West Virginia Masonic Charitable Foundation, which funds scholarships, disaster relief, and community programs throughout the state. West Virginia Masons also participate in the Shriners Hospitals for Children network through Beni Kedem Shrine in Charleston and Osiris Shrine in Wheeling. The state's lodges have been particularly active in supporting local fire departments, volunteer rescue squads, and community festivals, often serving as the backbone of small-town civic infrastructure in counties where the lodge is one of the few remaining community institutions. The CHIP children's identification program is also active in West Virginia, with Masons running ID events at fairs and community gatherings.
How to Become a Freemason in West Virginia
Joining a West Virginia lodge follows the standard mainstream American Masonic process. The first rule is the same everywhere: Masons don't recruit, so the first move is yours. Requirements under West Virginia Grand Lodge law are that you be a man, at least 18 years old, of good moral character, with belief in a Supreme Being, and a resident of West Virginia or close enough to attend lodge meetings regularly. To start, find a lodge near you using the LodgeFinder West Virginia page or the Grand Lodge of West Virginia's online directory.
Most West Virginia lodges meet once or twice a month and host a public dinner before the stated meeting that's open to family and prospects. Reach out to the lodge Secretary by phone or email and ask for a petition. The petition asks for personal background, employment history, and references; you'll need two current Master Masons to sign as recommenders. If you don't know any Masons yet, the lodge can introduce you after a few open dinners.
Submit your completed petition along with the initiation fee. West Virginia lodge fees are generally on the lower end nationally, typically $150 to $300 for all three degrees combined, with annual dues of $50 to $150 a year afterward. Smaller rural lodges in counties with declining population sometimes charge less. After submission, a three-person investigation committee will visit you for an in-person interview, usually at home and lasting about an hour.
The committee reports to the lodge, the lodge votes by secret ballot, and a unanimous vote elects you to receive the degrees. The Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason degrees are conferred in succession with proficiency exams between each. The whole process from petition to Master Mason typically takes four to ten months in West Virginia.
Notable West Virginia Freemasons in History
West Virginia's Masonic roster includes a number of notable state and national figures. Francis H. Pierpont, the so-called Father of West Virginia who led the western Virginia counties' break from the Confederacy and served as governor of the Restored Government of Virginia, was a Mason. Arthur Ingraham Boreman, the first governor of West Virginia after statehood in 1863, was a Mason.
Henry Gassaway Davis, a US Senator from West Virginia and the 1904 Democratic vice-presidential nominee, was a Mason. Stephen B. Elkins, another US Senator from West Virginia and a major figure in the state's coal and railroad industries, was a Mason. Cyrus Vance, the US Secretary of State under Jimmy Carter, was born in Clarksburg and had family Masonic ties.
Robert C. Byrd, the long-serving US Senator from West Virginia, was a Mason. Jay Rockefeller, the long-serving US Senator and former governor, comes from a Masonic family though his own status varies in records. Gaston Caperton, governor in the 1990s, was a Mason.
In the cultural sphere, Pearl S. Buck, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist born in Hillsboro, was not a Mason herself (and could not have been under mainstream rules) but came from a Masonic family. Don Knotts, the Morgantown-born actor famous for The Andy Griffith Show, was a Mason. Many West Virginia federal judges, state Supreme Court justices, and military officers have been Masons throughout the state's history.
The state's Masonic membership has often included a high proportion of coal industry executives, railroad figures, and union leaders, reflecting the centrality of those industries to West Virginia life.
Prince Hall Freemasonry in West Virginia
The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of West Virginia is the African American Masonic grand body for the state. It was organized in 1875 in Charleston, just over a decade after the state's founding, and grew through the late 19th century as African Americans built institutions during Reconstruction in the new state. The broader Prince Hall tradition traces back to Prince Hall, a free Black man in Boston who was made a Mason by a British military lodge in 1775 and chartered African Lodge No. 459 under the Grand Lodge of England in 1784.
West Virginia Prince Hall Masonry has been particularly tied to the historically Black coal mining communities in the southern coalfields, where towns like McDowell County had substantial Black populations and active Black civic life through the 20th century. Prince Hall lodges were also active in Charleston, Huntington, Wheeling, and Bluefield. Many leading figures in West Virginia African American political and educational history were Prince Hall Masons, including some early presidents and faculty of West Virginia State University (a historically Black college). The mainstream Grand Lodge of West Virginia formally recognized the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of West Virginia in the late 20th century, joining the wave of US grand lodges extending recognition.
The two grand lodges now have a working relationship that allows mutual visitation. The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of West Virginia today has approximately 15 to 25 active subordinate lodges, with concentrations in the Kanawha Valley around Charleston, the southern coalfields, and the Northern Panhandle's industrial cities.
Frequently Asked Questions about Masonic Lodges in West Virginia
When was West Virginia's Grand Lodge formed?
The Grand Lodge of West Virginia was formed on May 11, 1865, in Fairmont, just two years after West Virginia became a state during the Civil War. Eighteen lodges that had decided to break from the Grand Lodge of Virginia organized the new grand body. Thomas H. Logan was the first Grand Master.
Why is West Virginia separate from Virginia for Masonry?
West Virginia split from Virginia politically in 1863 during the Civil War, and the Masons in the western counties followed the political division by forming a new grand lodge in 1865. The Grand Lodge of Virginia formally recognized the new West Virginia Grand Lodge in 1869 after some diplomatic work.
What's the oldest Masonic lodge in West Virginia?
Wellsburg Lodge No. 2 in Wellsburg, originally chartered as Wellsburg Lodge No. 12 by the Grand Lodge of Virginia in 1796, is generally considered the oldest continuously operating lodge in West Virginia. Several other lodges have late-18th-century or early-19th-century origins under their original Virginia charters.
How many Masons are there in West Virginia today?
West Virginia has approximately 10,000 to 12,500 active Master Masons across about 110 to 130 lodges under the mainstream Grand Lodge. The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of West Virginia adds several hundred more members across roughly 15 to 25 additional lodges. Numbers have declined steadily since the mid-20th century peak.
How much does it cost to join a West Virginia lodge?
West Virginia lodges generally charge $150 to $300 for all three degrees combined, with annual dues of $50 to $150 afterward. Costs are on the lower end of the national range, partly because lodges are smaller and operating costs in West Virginia are lower than in major metropolitan areas.
Sources & Further Reading
Browse West Virginia by City
Click on a city to see all 31 lodges in that area.