www.edmond-mason.org

GRAND LODGE OF INDIAN TERRITORY LODGES (SEAL)

As population moved from East to west Freemasonry kept pace.  As Arkansas grew in population Masonic activity followed.  By 1838 there were four Masonic Lodges in Arkansas chartered from Grand Lodges from three states; Tennessee, Louisiana and Alabama.  On November 21^st, 1838 four Lodges in Arkansas formed the Grand Lodge of Arkansas.  Masonry spread throughout Arkansas and moved in Indian Territory along with the five civilized tribes. 

The first lodge charted in Indian Territory was on November 8^th, 1848 was Tahlequah, Cherokee Nation U.D. #21.  Before Cherokee Nation was chartered the nearest Masonic Lodge was in Ft Smith, Arkansas.  Due to the distance and slow communication the Cherokee Indian brethren with the assistance of brethren at Ft Gibson petitioned the Grand Lodge of Arkansas for a dispensation to open a lodge at Tahlequah, seat of the Cherokee government.  Both Indians and private citizens of the Cherokee Nation - white men who came into the country as solders, teachers, merchants and missionaries - organized Cherokee Lodge # 21.  The leaders, however, were Indian.

Reported in the Ft Smith Herald, August 22, 1849 the installation of officers in Cherokee Lodge as follows: W.S. Adair, WM, N.B. Danneberg, SW, Joseph Coody, JW, T.B. Emerson, SD, W.L. Held, JD, David Carter, Treasurer, William P Ross, Secretary.  In 1851 Chief William P. Ross served as Master, H.D. Reese as Senior warden, George Butler as Junior Warden, and J. Thompson as Secretary.  Ross received the Master Mason Degree in Federal Lodge #1 in Washington C.C. on April 25, 1848.  He and leaders of the Cherokee tribe were at the capital at that time to arrange a treaty after the tribe had been forced to Indian Territory from Georgia.

Although Ft. Gibson was but 25 miles away, the members could not attend Lodge regularly without interfering with their occupational duties.  Many were army men stationed at the post.  On November 5, 1850, they chartered their own lodge - Fort Gibson Lodge # 35, with assistance of their Tahlequah brethren.

Not to be outdone, military men stationed at Fort Gibson as well as several prominent Choctaw Indians petitioned the Grand Lodge of Arkansas and was granted on November 4, 1852 a charter for Doaksville Lodge #52.

On November 9, 1853 Flint Lodge #74 located at Flint Court House close to the present site of Stillwell in Adair County.  W.W. Adair was the first master.  Flint lodge would flourish until the early days of the Civil war.

Supreme Judge George W. Stidham of the Creek Nation led the movement to establish a Lodge for his people.  He and Ben Marshall, Creek National Treasurer obtained the charter for Muscogee Lodge #93 from the Grand Lodge of Arkansas on November 9, 1855.  Muscogee Lodge # 93 was located at the town of Creek agency.  Judge Stidham was the first Master, William Whitefield, Senior Warden, and John Barnwell, Junior Warden.

Muscogee #93 brought to count five lodges were chartered by the Grand Lodge of Arkansas between 1848 and 1855.

November 8, 1848 Cherokee Nation #21 at Tahlequah
November 5, 1850 Ft Gibson #35
November 5, 1852 Choctaw #52 at Daoksville
November 9, 1853 Flint #74, near Stillwell Adair Co.
November 9, 1855 Muscogee #93, now known as Eufaula #1

During the years of the Civil War the Grand Lodge of Arkansas lost most of its records.  In November 1862 the GL Arkansas held its annual communication at Little Rock and 51 of the 168 chartered Lodges were represented… None from Oklahoma Indian Territory.

Subsequent annual communications in 1863, 1864 & 1865 had an average of 23 lodges represented, none from Oklahoma Indian Territory.  During the 1865 communication it was ordered that all lodges under Arkansas Charter furnish such records as they may have to enable the GL to rebuild their records, none of the loges in Oklahoma IT replied… the Grand Secretary of GL Arkansas declared all records lost.

In 1867 Bro. H.D., Reese PM of Cherokee Lodge #21 wrote advising he had the Charter and Lodge Jewels and requested time to collect back dues and be reinstated.  The GL Arkansas refused this request and several subsequent requests.  The reason given was many Cherokee Lodge Brothers had sided with the Union and were thus not desirable and “Unworthy of reinstatement”.

On July 22, 1868, Brother J. S. Murrow was issued a dispensation to open a lodge at Bogey Depot Ok-la-ho-ma # 217, Chapel Hill Lodge U.D. was chartered at Wheelock on November 23, 1970, a new lodge was chartered at Doaksville on November 7, 1871 - Doaksville Lodge #279; Caddo lodge #311 was chartered on October 14, 1873; and the Grand Lodge of Kansas issued a charter for Alpha Lodge #20 at Ft Gibson on October 16, 1872... masonry was flourishing in Oklahoma IT.

Along comes the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory…by 1874 there were five lodges in IT, Ok-la-ho-ma Lodge #217 at Boggy Depot, Doaksville #279, Alpha #122 at Ft Gibson (GL Kansas), Caddo #311, and Flint #74.  Three lodges Caddo #311, Doaksville #279 and Eufaula #90 responded to the call From Fro. Granville McPherson of Caddo #311 to form a Grand Lodge of Indian Territory.

October 5, 1874 Grand Lodge of Indian Territory AF&AM was formed.. After the War Between the States, three of six lodges under the allegiance of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas organized themselves into a Convention and the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory came into existence. Among the representatives of the Lodges was George W. Stidham, chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Creek Nation, who was Master of Mus-co-gee #90 at the time.  Stidham was born November 17, 1817, in Alabama, of Scottish/Irish-Indian parents.  He came to Indian Territory with the creeks in 1837.  He could not speak English until he was 20 years old.  His first official position was an interpreter, and later was the Creek's representative to Washington.  He was elected Principal chief during the war, but under the hectic tactics of the day, his election was contested and he was denied the office.  In 1867 he became Chief Justice, in which office he continued until his death in March, 1891.  He was the first Grand treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory.

( Much of this material was obtained from the pages of "The Story of Oklahoma Masonry", by J. Fred Latham, The first seventy-five years of Symbolic Masonry 1874- 1949...published by the GL Oklahoma 1978., some material from A shared spirit: Freemasonry and the Native American Tradition a joint publication of the Masonic Service Association of North America and the GL Oklahoma., other material from historical documentation of the various lodges)

After the 1889 Land Run in the Unassigned Lands the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory grew at an aggressive rate.

  #1 Eufaula                   October 5, 1874     April 1, 1874 Muskogee #93 GL Arkansas
  #2 Doaksville              October 5, 1874     May 12, 1875 Doaksville #279 Gl Arkansas
  #3 Caddo                     October 5, 1874     August 26, 1873,Caddo # 311 GL Arkansas 
  #4 Boggy Depot,        May 12, 1875          Nov 18, 1868 OK-LA-HO-MA Lodge #217 GL Arkansas
  #5  Vinita
  #6 Pauls valley            May 11, 1875
  #7 Elm Springs at Rush Springs
  #8 Colbert                     September 6, 1876.
  #9 McAlester
#10 Cherokee                 Nov 8, 1848              September 5, 1877 Cherokee #21 GL Arkansas
#11 Flint Station             Dec 28, 1882            July 18, 1873 Flint #74 GL Arkansas
#12 Alpha at Ft Gibson Nov 5, 1878              Nov 6, 1850 Ft Gibson #35 GL Arkansas
#13 Tecumseh                February 13, 1894
#13 Mosholatubbie Kully Chaha
#14 Webber Falls
#15 Ross Skulleyville... lost charter 1894
#16 Leon
#17 Thackerville
#18 Burneyville
#19 Bennington
#20 Savannah at Lehigh
#21 Jims Town, Anadarko   May 15, 1884
#22 South Canadian
#23 Healdton
#24 Frisco at Fairland
#25 Lone grove
#26 Cache
#27 Purcell
#28 Muskogee
#29 Mt. Hrriah at Hanson
#30 Bruton at Muldrow
#31 Ardmore
#32 Solomon Krebs
#33 Dougherty
#34 Whitefield
#35 Guthrie
#36 Oklahoma city
#37 Edmond                         April 18, 1890,           Edmond #37  GL Indian Territory
                                                 November 10, 1892 Edmond #4    GL Oklahoma Territory,  
                                                 February 10, 1909    Edmond #37 GL Oklahoma
#38 Norman                          November 5, 1890    Edmond #38  GL Indian Territory
                                                 December 3, 1892     Norman #5    GL Oklahoma Territory
                                                 February 11, 1909     Norman #38, GL Oklahoma
#39 Antlers
#40 Wynnewood
#41 Tucker
#42 Tyre at Davis
#43 Overbrook
#44 Simon
#45 Durant
#46Poteau
#47 Hartshorne
#48 Murrow
#49
#50 Dixie
#51
#52
#53 Claremore
#54 Velma
#55 Mannsville
#56
#57 Sunset
#58
#59 Berwyn
#60 Funcan
#61 McKay
#62 Red Oak
#63 Blue Grove
#64 Cornish
#65 Tulsa
#66 Tahlihina
#67 Oakland
#68 Afton
#69 Glenn
#70 Enterprise
#71 Gilmore at Allen
#72 Chelsea
#73 White Bead
#74 Checotah
#75 Hardy
#76 Hewitt
#83 St John's  Wagoner    March 27, 1895
#98 Albert Pike Stigler          August 9, 1898
#110 Heavener                       July 28, 1900

Disclaimer... this presentation is under construction and present condition shows my meager research.  Hopefully more data will be forthcoming.  Much of the data contained herein was obtained from the presentations by the individual lodges, several of which claim to be the oldest lodge in Oklahoma. Tom Menasco, Sr. Edmond #37

This picture of this corner stone was taken at the museum of the five civilized tribes in Muskogee, OK.  When the museum money taker noticed  Masonic paraphernalia in the form of my Masonic ring they admitted my wife and I at no charge.