Mountain City Lodge No. 67, A.F. & A.M.
Lexington, Virginia
A Dispensation was granted to Mountain City Lodge on February 12, 1857, with the following officers:
James Campbell, Worshipful Master
Milton H. Key, Senior Warden
Edward L. Graham, Junior Warden
The Lodge met in the Odd Fellows Hall in the town of Lexington. A Mrs. Gibbs presented the first Bible to the Lodge. On July 6, 1857, the petition of Reverend Brother William F. Speake was considered, and he was duly elected a member. By unanimous vote he was exempt from the usual fees, and duly elected Chaplain of the Lodge.
On June 18, 1858, the officers were elected, and although Worshipful James Campbell had been serving as Worshipful Master, he had never received the Past Masters Degree. He received the degree along with John T. Gibbs and William McLaughlin the Senior and Junior Wardens.
The first District Deputy Grand Master to visit this Lodge was Right Worshipful and Colonel William H. Harmon, who served as Grand Master of Masons in Virginia from December 15, 1863 to March 2, 1865, losing his life in the cause of the Confederacy at the battle of Waynesboro on March 2, 1865. He was the first Grand Master to visit Mountain Lodge.
In the beginning, this Lodge was chartered as Lodge No. 159 but on February 15, 1859 the number was changed to 67. In 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War, the Lodge experienced many difficulties and many adjustments had to be made.
On August 18, 1867, Brother J. William Jones, a member of Cay Lodge No. 58 was elected to membership. Reverend Brother Jones was the pastor of the Lexington Baptist Church for several years, and an intimate friend of General Robert E. Lee. He was one of the most outstanding of Lees biographers. He authored a book called “Christ in the Camps” a narrative of the chaplaincy of the Civil War.
The Lodge obtained new quarters in March 1869, when it rented the third story of the Tutwiler Building at an annual rent of $150.00. The Lodge occupied the building in 1879.
St. John the Baptist Day was observed by the Lodge on June23, 1866, and plans had been made and invitations sent to Masons and non-masons. Probably for financial reasons only Masons were invited and what might have been a memorable meeting turned into the usual celebration of St. John the Baptist.
In 1825, a new Lodge was proposed at a cost of $7,500. The Lodge would be on the second floor and business establishments on the first floor.
Most Worshipful William Moseley Brown, Past Grand Master of Masons in Virginia, prepared a history to celebrate the first one hundred years of this Lodge in 1957. Most Worshipful Brother Brown was initiated an Entered Apprentice on November 21, 1921, passed to the degree of Fellowcraft on December 19, 1921, and raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on January 2, 1922. He served as Worshipful Master beginning in December 1925. In February 1926, he was appointed District Deputy Grand Master for Masonic District No. 20 and served two terms. He was elected Grand Junior Deacon of the Grand Lodge of Virginia in February 1929, and became Grand Master of Masons in Virginia in 1934. Brother Brown was the author of fifteen books on Masonry and other allied subjects.
150th Anniversary Resolution
Lexington, Virginia
A Dispensation was granted to Mountain City Lodge on February 12, 1857, with the following officers:
James Campbell, Worshipful Master
Milton H. Key, Senior Warden
Edward L. Graham, Junior Warden
The Lodge met in the Odd Fellows Hall in the town of Lexington. A Mrs. Gibbs presented the first Bible to the Lodge. On July 6, 1857, the petition of Reverend Brother William F. Speake was considered, and he was duly elected a member. By unanimous vote he was exempt from the usual fees, and duly elected Chaplain of the Lodge.
On June 18, 1858, the officers were elected, and although Worshipful James Campbell had been serving as Worshipful Master, he had never received the Past Masters Degree. He received the degree along with John T. Gibbs and William McLaughlin the Senior and Junior Wardens.
The first District Deputy Grand Master to visit this Lodge was Right Worshipful and Colonel William H. Harmon, who served as Grand Master of Masons in Virginia from December 15, 1863 to March 2, 1865, losing his life in the cause of the Confederacy at the battle of Waynesboro on March 2, 1865. He was the first Grand Master to visit Mountain Lodge.
In the beginning, this Lodge was chartered as Lodge No. 159 but on February 15, 1859 the number was changed to 67. In 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War, the Lodge experienced many difficulties and many adjustments had to be made.
On August 18, 1867, Brother J. William Jones, a member of Cay Lodge No. 58 was elected to membership. Reverend Brother Jones was the pastor of the Lexington Baptist Church for several years, and an intimate friend of General Robert E. Lee. He was one of the most outstanding of Lees biographers. He authored a book called “Christ in the Camps” a narrative of the chaplaincy of the Civil War.
The Lodge obtained new quarters in March 1869, when it rented the third story of the Tutwiler Building at an annual rent of $150.00. The Lodge occupied the building in 1879.
St. John the Baptist Day was observed by the Lodge on June23, 1866, and plans had been made and invitations sent to Masons and non-masons. Probably for financial reasons only Masons were invited and what might have been a memorable meeting turned into the usual celebration of St. John the Baptist.
In 1825, a new Lodge was proposed at a cost of $7,500. The Lodge would be on the second floor and business establishments on the first floor.
Most Worshipful William Moseley Brown, Past Grand Master of Masons in Virginia, prepared a history to celebrate the first one hundred years of this Lodge in 1957. Most Worshipful Brother Brown was initiated an Entered Apprentice on November 21, 1921, passed to the degree of Fellowcraft on December 19, 1921, and raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on January 2, 1922. He served as Worshipful Master beginning in December 1925. In February 1926, he was appointed District Deputy Grand Master for Masonic District No. 20 and served two terms. He was elected Grand Junior Deacon of the Grand Lodge of Virginia in February 1929, and became Grand Master of Masons in Virginia in 1934. Brother Brown was the author of fifteen books on Masonry and other allied subjects.
150th Anniversary Resolution