Grand Lodge of Massachusetts
Encyclopedia
The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, commonly referred to as the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and abbreviated GLMA, is the main governing body of Freemasonry
within Massachusetts
, and maintains Lodges in other jurisdictions overseas, namely Panama
, Chile
, the People's Republic of China
(meeting in Tokyo, Japan), and Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
, Cuba
.
It is considered to be the third oldest Masonic Grand Lodge in existence (after the United Grand Lodge of England
(which dates its own existence from the formation of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717), and the Grand Lodge of Ireland
(1725)), interpreting the 1733 warrant, creating Henry Price the Provincial Grand Master of New England
, as the creation of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.
Price's successors as Provincial Grand Master, Robert Tomlinson, Thomas Oxnard, Jeremy Gridley and John Rowe, were all appointed (in 1736, 1743, 1755 and 1768 respectively) by the Moderns'
Grand Master
in London
. The Provincial Grand Lodge, which, due to the American Revolution
, held no meeting during the period 1775 to 1787, finally merged with its counterpart Antient
Provincial Grand Lodge, created in 1769 by the Grand Lodge of Scotland
. On the date of that merger, 5 March 1792, the newly created body first exercised its new sovereign powers by electing a Grand Master in the person of John Cutler
, and by adopting the name The Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
After the formation of the Premier Grand Lodge of England
(later referred to as the Moderns) in 1717, and the amalgamation of individual Lodges into that body, Lodges and Masons in the Boston area asked one Brother Henry Price to go to London, and petition the Grand Lodge for a Warrant in order to be considered regular, in accordance with a regulation dated in 1721.
Price did so, and returned in the spring of 1733 with more than just a Warrant for an individual Lodge - he was made the "Provincial Grand Master of New England and Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging" by the Grand Master, The Right Honorable and Right Worshipful Anthony Browne, 6th Viscount Montague
.
This Provincial Grand Lodge was historically known as St. John's Grand Lodge, and chartered numerous Lodges in the Colonies. The first one, which was chartered in Boston, was known and recorded as First Lodge in the English rolls of 1734, and is now known as St. John's Lodge.
Due to the Revolution, and based on the state of affairs between the US and Great Britain, the Scottish Provincial Grand Lodge drafted new constitutions, breaking from the Grand Lodge of Scotland and becoming Massachusetts Grand Lodge in 1782.
There was a growing rift in the Lodge of St Andrew regarding this decision to separate, and in December of that same year, it came to a vote.
Thirty Masons voted to stay part of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and nineteen voted for the Massachusetts Grand Lodge. No action was taken on this vote, and it was laid on the table until the end of the war. In January 1784, they voted again, with twenty-nine voting for Scotland, and twenty-three for Massachusetts. Those voting for membership in the Massachusetts Grand Lodge were expelled from the Lodge of St. Andrew. However, they formed their own Lodge of St. Andrew under the new Massachusetts Grand Lodge, which caused confusion for some time, until it was renamed Rising States Lodge.
on July 30, 1733. This is also considered the first “home” of the Provincial Grand Lodge. After the Revolutionary War there were references to the Royal Exchange Coffee House as a potential site for a home but few records exist. The second floor of the Old State House was leased in 1821. This is the only building remaining in the city that housed the Grand Lodge prior to its present building. In 1830, the Grand Lodge purchased land at the corner of Tremont Street and Temple Place and proceeded to lay the cornerstone for a Masonic Temple. A battle with the Commonwealth over the Grand Lodge Acts of Incorporation caused the Grand Lodge to sell the building to Brother Robert Gould Shaw, who sold it back to the Grand Lodge in 1835 after anti-Masonic feelings calmed down. The building was sold to the U.S. government for $105,000 for use as a federal courthouse in 1857, because it was no longer adequate for a growing fraternity. Temporary headquarters were relocated to a building on Summer Street. A search for a permanent location ended with the purchase of the Winthrop House at the corner of Tremont and Boylston Streets in 1859. A fire destroyed the building on April 6, 1864. By October a cornerstone was laid for a new building at the same location, and the building was dedicated in 1867.
When fire destroyed part of the building in 1895, some wanted to sell the land and relocate. It was decided to tear down the entire building and rebuild a more substantial structure on the same site with nine floors above street level and two below. The cornerstone was laid in June 1898 and the building was dedicated on December 27, 1899. For many years there were storefronts on the street level with an entrance to the Masonic Temple on Boylston Street. In 1966, the stores were vacated, mosaics were added to the exterior, and the entrance was moved to the corner. The interior contained a new lobby and a banquet facility that was named Paul Revere Banquet Hall.
Grand Lodge was organized in Puerto Rico in 1885. A dispensation was issued to Bethesda Lodge in Valparaiso, Chile, in 1853. Eventually a District Grand Lodge was created, but by 1921 the lodges became merely a district of the Massachusetts Grand Lodge. The Massachusetts` Grand Lodge was responsible for the constitution of several other lodges in China, but by 1950, Grand Master Roger Keith had advised the lodges to go into voluntary recess. In 1952 the charter for Talien Lodge in South Manchuria was revoked and Sinim Lodge was allowed to move from Shanghai to Tokyo. With the construction of the Panama Canal, dispensations were issued to Isthmian Lodge in 1906 and Sojourners Lodge in 1912, both located in the Canal Zone. Grand Master A. Neil Osgood granted a dispensation to Caribbean Naval Lodge at the Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba in 1965. The lodge had been under the Grand Lodge of Cuba but surrendered its charter and petitioned the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.
was purchased for $50,000 in 1908 along with 397 acres (1.6 km²) of land, and the building was dedicated for use as the Masonic Home on May 25, 1911. Through a major capital campaign, $2.3 million was raised to construct a new wing. Since 1978, the grounds have been used for the Grand Master’s Fair each June, except in 2006. With major construction that year, the Fair was moved to the Aleppo Shrine Center in Wilmington. At its peak the Fair attracted nearly 20,000 people. Just before he died in 1991, Bro. James C. Nicoll Jr. requested the trustees of his private charitable foundation to make a gift after his death to the Masonic Education and Charity Trust for whatever purpose Grand Master Edgar W. Darling deemed most critically in need of support. The $200,000 grant was used to construct a chapel at the Home. Various Masonic-related organizations have sponsored stained-glass windows for the chapel. Among the more recent changes are an expansion of the original building for an administrative wing and the conversion of an auditorium to a lodge room. Ground was broken in 2004 for the construction of apartments and cottages for independent living. The development also included a provision for an assisted living unit to provide for various levels of care as needed. Residents began to move into the new quarters in 2006.
Master, Dr. Winslow Lewis, wore the apron that had been worn by General Lafayette at the 1825 cornerstone-laying. Today the monument is under the supervision of the National Park Service. The Grand Lodge donated $500,000 in 2003 to assist with the restoration of the monument. The project included a new museum on Monument Square overlooking the historic site. The monument restoration and the museum were completed in 2007.
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
within Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and maintains Lodges in other jurisdictions overseas, namely Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
(meeting in Tokyo, Japan), and Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
It is considered to be the third oldest Masonic Grand Lodge in existence (after the United Grand Lodge of England
United Grand Lodge of England
The United Grand Lodge of England is the main governing body of freemasonry within England and Wales and in other, predominantly ex-British Empire and Commonwealth countries outside the United Kingdom. It is the oldest Grand Lodge in the world, deriving its origin from 1717...
(which dates its own existence from the formation of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717), and the Grand Lodge of Ireland
Grand Lodge of Ireland
The Grand Lodge of Ireland is the second most senior Grand Lodge of Freemasons in the world, and the oldest in continuous existence. Since no specific record of its foundation exists, 1725 is the year celebrated in Grand Lodge anniversaries, as the oldest reference to Grand Lodge of Ireland comes...
(1725)), interpreting the 1733 warrant, creating Henry Price the Provincial Grand Master of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, as the creation of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.
Price's successors as Provincial Grand Master, Robert Tomlinson, Thomas Oxnard, Jeremy Gridley and John Rowe, were all appointed (in 1736, 1743, 1755 and 1768 respectively) by the Moderns'
Premier Grand Lodge of England
The Premier Grand Lodge of England was founded on 24 June 1717 as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster and it existed until 1813 when it united with the Ancient Grand Lodge of England to create the United Grand Lodge of England. It was the first Masonic Grand Lodge to be created...
Grand Master
Grand Master (Masonic)
In Freemasonry a Grand Master is the leader of the lodges within his Masonic jurisdiction. He presides over a Grand Lodge, and has certain rights in the constituent lodges that form his jurisdiction....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The Provincial Grand Lodge, which, due to the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, held no meeting during the period 1775 to 1787, finally merged with its counterpart Antient
Antient Grand Lodge of England
The Ancient Grand Lodge of England or Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of England, according to the Old Constitutions was a rival Grand Lodge to the Premier Grand Lodge of England. It existed from 1751 until 1813 when the United Grand Lodge of England was created. They called themselves the...
Provincial Grand Lodge, created in 1769 by the Grand Lodge of Scotland
Grand Lodge of Scotland
The Grand Lodge of Antient, Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland was founded in 1736 – although only a third of all lodges were represented at the foundation meeting of the Grand Lodge....
. On the date of that merger, 5 March 1792, the newly created body first exercised its new sovereign powers by electing a Grand Master in the person of John Cutler
John Cutler
John Cutler may refer to:* John Charles Cutler , an American researcher involved in the Tuskegee syphilis experiment and the Syphilis experiments in Guatemala* John Christopher Cutler , second governor of the U.S...
, and by adopting the name The Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
First Provincial Grand Lodge
Freemasonry in Massachusetts dates to the early 18th century, and the foundation of its Grand Lodge is wound through with the threads of the (then) ongoing disputes between the Moderns and the Antients.After the formation of the Premier Grand Lodge of England
Premier Grand Lodge of England
The Premier Grand Lodge of England was founded on 24 June 1717 as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster and it existed until 1813 when it united with the Ancient Grand Lodge of England to create the United Grand Lodge of England. It was the first Masonic Grand Lodge to be created...
(later referred to as the Moderns) in 1717, and the amalgamation of individual Lodges into that body, Lodges and Masons in the Boston area asked one Brother Henry Price to go to London, and petition the Grand Lodge for a Warrant in order to be considered regular, in accordance with a regulation dated in 1721.
Price did so, and returned in the spring of 1733 with more than just a Warrant for an individual Lodge - he was made the "Provincial Grand Master of New England and Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging" by the Grand Master, The Right Honorable and Right Worshipful Anthony Browne, 6th Viscount Montague
Viscount Montagu
Viscount Montagu was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 2 September 1554 for Anthony Browne. It became extinct in 1797.The title Viscount Montagu was chosen from line of descent from John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu. His daughter Lucy Neville was the mother of Anthony Browne...
.
This Provincial Grand Lodge was historically known as St. John's Grand Lodge, and chartered numerous Lodges in the Colonies. The first one, which was chartered in Boston, was known and recorded as First Lodge in the English rolls of 1734, and is now known as St. John's Lodge.
Scotland, Ireland, and the Antients
In a manner similar to the creation of St. John's Grand Lodge, a number of Masons who had been active in the Antients style of Freemasonry grouped together, and petitioned the Grand Lodge of Scotland for a warrant, which was given to "The Lodge of St Andrew" in 1756. These Antient Freemasons, desiring equal stature with the Moderns, joined with the Lodges attached to three British military units in petitioning the GL of Scotland for Provincial GL status:- Lodge of St. Andrew (Scotland)
- British Army Lodge #58 (AntientAntient Grand Lodge of EnglandThe Ancient Grand Lodge of England or Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of England, according to the Old Constitutions was a rival Grand Lodge to the Premier Grand Lodge of England. It existed from 1751 until 1813 when the United Grand Lodge of England was created. They called themselves the...
) in the 14th (Irish) Regiment of Foot - Glittering Star Lodge #322 (IrelandGrand Lodge of IrelandThe Grand Lodge of Ireland is the second most senior Grand Lodge of Freemasons in the world, and the oldest in continuous existence. Since no specific record of its foundation exists, 1725 is the year celebrated in Grand Lodge anniversaries, as the oldest reference to Grand Lodge of Ireland comes...
) with the 29th Regiment - Lodge Number 106 (Scotland) with the 64th regiment (which left before the inauguration of the GM, Joseph Warren)
Due to the Revolution, and based on the state of affairs between the US and Great Britain, the Scottish Provincial Grand Lodge drafted new constitutions, breaking from the Grand Lodge of Scotland and becoming Massachusetts Grand Lodge in 1782.
There was a growing rift in the Lodge of St Andrew regarding this decision to separate, and in December of that same year, it came to a vote.
Thirty Masons voted to stay part of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and nineteen voted for the Massachusetts Grand Lodge. No action was taken on this vote, and it was laid on the table until the end of the war. In January 1784, they voted again, with twenty-nine voting for Scotland, and twenty-three for Massachusetts. Those voting for membership in the Massachusetts Grand Lodge were expelled from the Lodge of St. Andrew. However, they formed their own Lodge of St. Andrew under the new Massachusetts Grand Lodge, which caused confusion for some time, until it was renamed Rising States Lodge.
A Home for Grand Lodge
Although there are indications that Freemasons met at several Boston locations in the 1720s, the constitution of the First Lodge took place at the Bunch of Grapes TavernBunch-of-Grapes
The Bunch-of-Grapes was a tavern located on King Street in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 17th and 18th centuries. Typical of taverns of the time, it served multiple functions in the life of the town. One could buy drinks, concert tickets, slaves; meet friends, business associates, political...
on July 30, 1733. This is also considered the first “home” of the Provincial Grand Lodge. After the Revolutionary War there were references to the Royal Exchange Coffee House as a potential site for a home but few records exist. The second floor of the Old State House was leased in 1821. This is the only building remaining in the city that housed the Grand Lodge prior to its present building. In 1830, the Grand Lodge purchased land at the corner of Tremont Street and Temple Place and proceeded to lay the cornerstone for a Masonic Temple. A battle with the Commonwealth over the Grand Lodge Acts of Incorporation caused the Grand Lodge to sell the building to Brother Robert Gould Shaw, who sold it back to the Grand Lodge in 1835 after anti-Masonic feelings calmed down. The building was sold to the U.S. government for $105,000 for use as a federal courthouse in 1857, because it was no longer adequate for a growing fraternity. Temporary headquarters were relocated to a building on Summer Street. A search for a permanent location ended with the purchase of the Winthrop House at the corner of Tremont and Boylston Streets in 1859. A fire destroyed the building on April 6, 1864. By October a cornerstone was laid for a new building at the same location, and the building was dedicated in 1867.
When fire destroyed part of the building in 1895, some wanted to sell the land and relocate. It was decided to tear down the entire building and rebuild a more substantial structure on the same site with nine floors above street level and two below. The cornerstone was laid in June 1898 and the building was dedicated on December 27, 1899. For many years there were storefronts on the street level with an entrance to the Masonic Temple on Boylston Street. In 1966, the stores were vacated, mosaics were added to the exterior, and the entrance was moved to the corner. The interior contained a new lobby and a banquet facility that was named Paul Revere Banquet Hall.
Beyond the Bay State
The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts continues to maintain lodges in other parts of the world. As early as 1821, the Grand Master formed a Deputy Grand Lodge at Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, and constituted a lodge there. An independentGrand Lodge was organized in Puerto Rico in 1885. A dispensation was issued to Bethesda Lodge in Valparaiso, Chile, in 1853. Eventually a District Grand Lodge was created, but by 1921 the lodges became merely a district of the Massachusetts Grand Lodge. The Massachusetts` Grand Lodge was responsible for the constitution of several other lodges in China, but by 1950, Grand Master Roger Keith had advised the lodges to go into voluntary recess. In 1952 the charter for Talien Lodge in South Manchuria was revoked and Sinim Lodge was allowed to move from Shanghai to Tokyo. With the construction of the Panama Canal, dispensations were issued to Isthmian Lodge in 1906 and Sojourners Lodge in 1912, both located in the Canal Zone. Grand Master A. Neil Osgood granted a dispensation to Caribbean Naval Lodge at the Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba in 1965. The lodge had been under the Grand Lodge of Cuba but surrendered its charter and petitioned the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.
Growth of the Masonic Home
As early as the 1750s, lodges were requested to contribute to a charity fund to provide relief to needy brethren. By 1811 a permanent charity fund was established with guidelines for its growth. The fund was to be managed by a board of trustees. With the need for funds to purchase the Winthrop House as a location for the Grand Lodge, the fund was depleted. This led to the formation of a more stringent Masonic Educational Charity Trust, which later became known as Masonic Education and Charity Trust. Toward the end of the 19th century, there was talk of the need for a Masonic Home for Masons and widows. Eventually a $1,000 donation from Mount Hope Lodge, Fall River, in 1904 established a fund to build a Masonic Home. Within a few years the fund grew to $48,000 through gifts and pledges. The Overlook Hotel in CharltonCharlton, Massachusetts
Charlton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,981 at the 2010 census.- History :Charlton was first settled in 1735. It was established as a District separated off from Oxford on January 10, 1755, and became a Town in 1775 by a law that made all...
was purchased for $50,000 in 1908 along with 397 acres (1.6 km²) of land, and the building was dedicated for use as the Masonic Home on May 25, 1911. Through a major capital campaign, $2.3 million was raised to construct a new wing. Since 1978, the grounds have been used for the Grand Master’s Fair each June, except in 2006. With major construction that year, the Fair was moved to the Aleppo Shrine Center in Wilmington. At its peak the Fair attracted nearly 20,000 people. Just before he died in 1991, Bro. James C. Nicoll Jr. requested the trustees of his private charitable foundation to make a gift after his death to the Masonic Education and Charity Trust for whatever purpose Grand Master Edgar W. Darling deemed most critically in need of support. The $200,000 grant was used to construct a chapel at the Home. Various Masonic-related organizations have sponsored stained-glass windows for the chapel. Among the more recent changes are an expansion of the original building for an administrative wing and the conversion of an auditorium to a lodge room. Ground was broken in 2004 for the construction of apartments and cottages for independent living. The development also included a provision for an assisted living unit to provide for various levels of care as needed. Residents began to move into the new quarters in 2006.
Library & Museum
With the 1815 acquisition of a collection of Masonic books owned by R.W. and Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris, the Grand Lodge had the beginnings of what would become one of the major Masonic libraries in the world. Rev. Harris was the first to hold the title of Grand Chaplain. By 1850, there were provisions for a standing committee to oversee a library, but the 1864 fire slowed the collection process. A number of Grand Masters in the late 19th century were considered strong Masonic scholars and were influential in building the collection. It was not until 1930, however, that steps were taken to organize the growing collection. M.W. Melvin M. Johnson and others convinced J. Hugo Tatsch to come to Boston. Tatsch had developed a Masonic library classification system at the Iowa Masonic Library, and he put that system in place in Boston. Tatsch was amazed at the wealth of unique material he was able to uncover. When he died in 1939, his widow donated more than 1,000 items from his personal library. Tatsch’s assistant was Muriel Davis, who later became Mrs. Earl W. Taylor, wife of the Grand Secretary. Upon Tatsch’s death, she took over the duties in the library until her retirement in 1968. In 1993, the library was formally named in honor of Samuel Crocker Lawrence, a Civil War general who was Grand Master in 1881-83. Lawrence had left his extensive collection to the library in 1911. His material included a valuable Enoch T. Carson collection. In addition to the books and periodicals, the Grand Lodge was a repository for many intriguing artifacts. In 1800, the Grand Lodge had requested from Martha Washington a lock of hair from the late George Washington. When she complied, Paul Revere created a golden urn for the hair. A similar request was made of Mrs. Garfield following the assassination of President and Brother James A. Garfield in 1882. In 1887, a committee recommended the formation of a Grand Lodge museum. One of the first items for the museum was a copy of the Warren family coat of arms presented by Joseph Warren Lodge in Boston. As the collection grew, many of the items were put on display on the second floor of the Grand Lodge building. Concerned about the proper preservation of the historical items, Grand Master Donald G. Hicks negotiated with the Scottish Rite Supreme Council’s National Heritage Museum in Lexington to transfer the items from Boston on permanent loan. The collection was eventually transferred in 2004. The Grand Lodge library was then relocated from the third floor of the Boston building to the vacated area on the second floor.The Latest Quarter Century (1983-2008)
The 250th anniversary of the Grand Lodge in 1983 was marked by a host of events. M.W. Donald W. Vose served as chairman for the anniversary committee. A special communication of the Grand Lodge was held at Tokyo, Japan, on March 15, 1983, for the purpose of a Grand Master’s visit to Sinim Lodge, originally of Shanghai, China. In 1994, Grand Lodge instituted a scholarship program for children of Massachusetts Mason who are high school graduates enrolled in accredited colleges. Upon the 1995 recommendation of the Foreign Relations Committee, the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was recognized as being “regular” following a similar recognition by the United Grand Lodge of England. A study committee in 1947 had made the same recommendation, but the action caused concern among other Grand Lodges. When Florida and Texas withdrew recognition from Massachusetts, the matter was referred back to a committee. In 1949 it was voted to rescind the 1947 vote “to avoid disharmony in American Freemasonry.” At the regular communication following the 1995 decision, the Grand Master welcomed the Grand Master and officers of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge. At a special communication on July 4, 1995, M.W. David W. Lovering (Grand Master 1993-1995), Grand Lodge officers and members marched from the Old State House to the current State House to relay the cornerstone, which was originally laid by M.W. Paul Revere on July 4, 1795. The trowel that was symbolically used was one that had been made by Paul Revere. A new program known as the Masonic Angel Fund was established in 1998 by members of Universal Lodge in Orleans, and an accredited charitable foundation was approved in 2000. Other lodges soon adopted the program, working under the established foundation. Participating lodges work through a local school district to provide money to assist needy children with the purchase of winter clothing, eye exams, glasses or other items when a need is identified by a school administrator. To strengthen the bond with Prince Hall Masons, the officers of the two Grand Lodges visited the Old Granary and Copp’s Hill burial grounds on May 10, 2005. During the visits, two ashlars were dedicated, one at Paul Revere’s grave and the other at the grave of Prince Hall. The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts has always had a strong relationship with the Bunker Hill monument. At the 1775 battle itself Grand Master Joseph Warren lost his life. In his memory King Solomon’s Lodge in Charlestown erected an 18 feet (5.5 m) monument on Bunker Hill in 1794. When the Bunker Hill Monument Association was established in 1823, the lodge turned over the land and monument to the association. Several years later a larger monument was planned and the Grand Lodge laid the cornerstone with the Marquis de Lafayette in attendance. The original monument is still visible inside the base of the newer structure. The Grand Lodge was invited to participate in the 100th anniversary celebration of the Battle of Bunker Hill. For the occasion, Grand Master Percival Lowell Everett wore an apron once owned by Joseph Warren, and the acting Deputy GrandMaster, Dr. Winslow Lewis, wore the apron that had been worn by General Lafayette at the 1825 cornerstone-laying. Today the monument is under the supervision of the National Park Service. The Grand Lodge donated $500,000 in 2003 to assist with the restoration of the monument. The project included a new museum on Monument Square overlooking the historic site. The monument restoration and the museum were completed in 2007.