Organization of the Arkansas Grand Lodge

In his eloquent Centennial Address delivered on November 21, 1938, at the Grand Lodge Annual Communication, Comrade N. Glover, Past Grand Master, narrates the history of Masonry in Arkansas from its earliest days at Arkansas Post to the date of that meeting. A part of that address describes the organization of the Grand Lodge, as follows:

"Masonry was dominant in the Territory from 1821 till 1835. The next Lodge to be instituted in the Territory of Arkansas was in 1835. The Grand Lodge of Tennessee instituted Washington Lodge No 82 at Fayetteville, Arkansas; according to the records of the Lodge, it received its dispensation on November 5, 1835. In the latter part of the year 1 837, the Grand Lodge of Louisiana instituted Western Star Lodge No. 43 in Little Rock, and Morning Star No. 42 at Arkansas Post. About the same time the Grand Lodge of Alabama instituted Mt. Horeb Lodge at Washington, Arkansas. These four lodges certainly can lay claim to historical precedence in Arkansas Masonry, excepting ‘Arkansas Lodge’, which was the first.

Washington Lodge was instituted during the territorial period of Arkansas, while all the others were instituted during the first years of our Statehood. Morning Star could boast of being located in the oldest permanent settlement west of the Mississippi; while Western Star Lodge was located in the capital of the State. Mt. Horeb Lodge, in Washington, Arkansas, became the haven for Arkansas Masonry during the period of the Civil War, after the Federals captured Little Rock, and the capital of the State was temporarily moved to Washington.

On Nov. 21, 1838, the representatives of the four lodges mentioned above met here in Little Rock and organized the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Arkansas. The representatives were, to-wit:

From Washington Lodge No. 82, of Fayetteville, working under the authority of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee: Onesimus Evans, Past Master; Washington L. Wilson, Robert Bedford, Abraham Whinnery, Richard C. S. Brown, Samuel Adams and William S Oldham. These brethren rode on horseback from Fayetteville to Little Rock, a distance of 200 miles.

From Western Star Lodge No 43, Little Rock, working under the authority the Grand Lodge of Louisiana: William Gilchrist, Past Master, Charles L Jefferies, Past Master; Nicholas Peay, Past Master; Edward Cross, Past Master; Thomas Parsel, Alden Sprague and John Morris.

From Morning Star Lodge No. 42, working under the authority of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana: John W. Pullen.

From Mt. Horeb, Washington, working under the authority of the Grand Lodge of Alabama: James H. Walker, Allen M. Oakley, Joseph W. McKean and James Trigg. Besides these representatives there were some visitors in attendance on the meeting, which resulted in the formation of, the Grand Lodge.

After the adoption of a constitution, the Grand Lodge was organized by the election of the following officers who were the first to serve in their respective stations, to-wit: William Gilchrist, Grand Master; Onesimus Evans, Deputy Grand Master; James H Walker, Grand Senior Warden; Washington L Wilson, Grand Junior Warden; Alden Sprague, Grand Treasurer; and George C. Watkins, Grand Secretary. It is a lamentable fact that the complete records of the first session of the Grand Lodge were not preserved from the destructive elements but they were destroyed by fire. The Grand Lodge granted new charter to the four lodges, which constituted it. Each of the lodges retained their respective names but were given new numbers as follows: Washington Lodge No. 1, Fayetteville; Western Star Lodge No. 2 at Little Rock; Morning Star Lodge No. 3, Arkansas Post; and Mt. Horeb Lodge No. 4, Washington. Morning Star Lodge No 3 did not long survive, while Mt. Horeb Lodge No. 4 held her charter until 1884; but Washington No. 1 and Western Star No. 2 have weathered all the storms for more than one hundred years and are vigorous in the causes of freemasonry today.

The Grand Lodge of Arkansas had less than one hundred members when it was organized, but Masonry, being a progressive science, has grown and flourished to the extent that more that seven hundred subordinate lodges and one Grand Lodge (that of Oklahoma) have been conceived in her and by her delivered to bless mankind. She has been the Mother of approximately 100,000 Masons. The face that the formation of the Grand Lodge is but two years younger than the State, and the founders of the Grand Lodge numbered among the founders of the State, makes the history of one comparable to the history of the other.

The next charters granted by the Grand Lodge of Arkansas were to: Clarksville No. 5 in 1839; Van Buren No 6, Napoleon No. 7 and Golden Square No. 8 in 1840; Franklin No. 9 in 1843 and Mount Zion No. 10 in 1844. No Charters were granted in 1845.

The Grand Lodge of Arkansas was duly incorporated by an Act of the Legislature on November 25, 1846, by which Act of the subordinate lodges were fairly and legally protected.

There were several factors, which caused the growth of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas to be slow for a good many years. The Sta e was new, and the territory comprising it not much more than a vast wilderness, the lack of means for transportation, the hazard of crossing the Mississippi River, other natural obstacles, and a lack of markets for the products of their labors kept migration to the territory at a slow pace for a long time. But as new settlements were brought into existence, the arm of the Grand Lodge reached out to that settlement, usually resulting in the formation of a lodge in that community and in that manner Freemasonry has kept pace with the development of the State for the past one hundred years.

It is pleasant to reflect upon the fact that in the hundred years past, peace and harmony have prevailed among the brethren of the Grand Lodge and that at no time has the Grand Lodge been a party to any dissension within the State. We feel that our Grand Lodge was founded upon the true principles of Freemasonry, and that these principles have been the beacon lights which have guided us through the long, long years of the last century. We have followed the ordinary course of all Masons respecting our duties to one another, to our families, to the State, to the nation and to God. We have not been blessed with the abundant means that some of our sister Grand Jurisdictions have received, but we feel that such means as we have had, have been judiciously administered. The Grand Lodge of Arkansas is represented in every community in the State by its affiliates and in more than four hundred communities it owns property. Many of the lodges throughout the State have erected stately buildings to grace the towns in which they are built, and these call to the attention of the alien, that there are men in the community who believe in the Fatherhood of God and in the Brotherhood of Man.

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