Gold Hill No.3 Monument

 

There were three chartered Lodges, Golden City No. 34 authorized by Kansas, Summit Lodge No.7 at Parkville and Rocky Mountain at Gold Hill, both affiliated with Nebraska. There were two Lodges working under dispensation from Kansas: Auraria and Nevadaville.

 

These officers were elected and installed:

J. M. Chivington of Gold Hill, Grand Master

S. M. Robins of Parkville, Deputy Grand Master

James Ewing of Parkville, Senior Grand Warden

J. M. Holt of Gold Hill, Junior Grand Warden

Eli Carter of Golden City, Grand Treasurer

C. A. Whittemore of Parkville, Grand Secretary

 

Nevada Lodge surrendered its Kansas charter (issued Oct. 15th, 1861, by the Grand Lodge of Kansas) and received Colorado Charter No.4. Auraria and Central City surrendered their dispensations from Kansas and Nebraska respectively to receive dispensations from Grand Master Chivington. On Dec. 11th, 1861, they were chartered by the Grand Lodge of Colorado as Denver Lodge No.5 and Chivington Lodge No.6. This latter lodge later changed its name to Central No.6.

 

Colorado's first annual communication was held Dec. 18th, 1861, at Denver, the second at Central City Nov. 3rd, 1862. The sessions were then alternated between these two towns until 1873, since when they have been held in Denver.

 

In the interests of peace and harmony, long-time Masonic objectives, Union Lodge No.7 was chartered directly in 1863 without the formality of serving under dispensation. The circumstances were these: The Civil War, arraying brother against brother, did not spare the membership of Denver Lodge No.5. This metropolitan Lodge of the new territory contained strong adherents of both the North and the South. It was difficult for brethren of their widely diverse opinions to dwell together in unity!

 

A large majority of No. 5's membership believed in the cause of the Southern Confederacy. Opposed was the Administration party represented by Colorado's Governor, his secretary, and an Army group.

 

At a conference at the grand communication it was decided to organize a new Lodge in Denver, thus permitting the two opposing sides to separate and each function through a Lodge of congenial members. Thus the Union sympathizers formed Union Lodge No.7 and an important crisis of early Colorado Masonry was avoided.

 

Empire Lodge No.8 at Empire lasted only 10 years as the town was deserted when the fortune hunters moved to more exciting mining prospects elsewhere.

 

Even as Colorado Masonry was received from other jurisdictions, so was Colorado ready and willing to pass on to others her priceless heritage.

Grand Jurisdiction 1873

 

First opportunity came in 1865 when the Masons of Virginia City and Helena City, Montana, asked for dispensations to form Lodges. Not only were dispensations granted but charters followed in due course of time. Colorado No.9 became No.2, Montana, and Colorado No. 10 became Montana No.3. (The noted Vigilantes were a by-product of the Virginia City group.)

 

Three Lodges were chartered in Wyoming: Cheyenne No. 16, now Wyoming No. I; Laramie No. 18, now Wyoming No.3; and Evanston No. 24, now Wyoming No.4. A Lodge at South Pass City, Wyoming, chartered by Nebraska, combined with these three to form the Wyoming Grand Lodge in 1874.

 

Charter No. 21 of Colorado was issued to a group of Masons in Salt Lake City who helped organize the Grand Lodge of Utah. This Lodge became No.3 in the Utah jurisdiction.

 

In the first 10 years the Grand Lodge grew to 21 constituent lodges. Washington No. 12 in 1867 became the second Lodge to be chartered without dispensation to meet the needs of the mining community of Georgetown. In 1868, just a year after chartering, shifting mining population caused No. 14 to leave the mountain village of Columbia for the foothills town of Boulder.

 

Outside of Denver and the mountain areas, the development was in the agricultural sections just east of the Rockies. Included were EI Paso No. 13 at Colorado Springs, Mount Moriah No. 15 at Canon City, Pueblo No. 17, Collins No. 19 at Fort Collins, and Occidental No. 20 at Greeley.

 

Geographically, Masonry spread rapidly in the second decade. In the south, Huerfano No. 27 at Walsenburg (1875) and Las Animas No. 28 in Trinidad (1875) received charters. In the San Luis Valley Del Norte No. 29 (1875), Olive Branch No. 32 at Saguache (1877) and Rosita No. 36 (1879) were the first Lodges. King Solomon No. 30 at Las Animas was the pioneer in the lower Arkansas river valley.

Lodge Rock, Site of First Meeting

 

Mining developments on the western slope brought San Juan No. 33 to Silverton (1877), Crystal Lake No. 34 to Lake City (1878), and many others in this decade. The grand communication of 1881 approved eight Lodges, a number not since equaled in one year.

 

Both the number of Lodges and membership grew steadily until the forces of the Great Depression interrupted. From 1928, when there were 147 constituent Lodges, not a single Lodge was chartered until after World War II in 1946. In the 15 years since, 20 regular Lodges have been approved plus the Research Lodge of Colorado (1953), a study and educational Lodge without number, and the Memorial Lodge of Colorado (1961) authorized solely to confer Masonic funerals.

 

From an original membership of 62 in 1861, the growth has been as follows:

1871  993     1921  26,242

1881  2,117     1931  33,962

1891  5,719     1941  28,896

1901  8,895     1951  41,960

1911  14,917     1960  47,098

 

THE GEORGE WASHINGTON NATIONAL MEMORIAL

The idea of a nation-wide Masonic observance of the centennial of George Washington's death came from a Colorado Mason, M. W. Bro. Roger W. Woodbury. At our thirty-third annual communication in 1893, our Grand Lodge endorsed his idea. Other Grand Lodges were invited to participate in the remarkable memorial service at Mount Vernon Dec. 14th, 1899.

 

Colorado Grand Master Alphonse A. Burnand was a principal speaker. Special recognition for originating the idea was given the Coloradans attending.

 

Out of this assemblage of prominent Masons came the idea for the George Washington National Masonic Memorial on Shooters Hill in Alexandria, Va., to serve as a fireproof repository for the Washington Masonic relics and as a memorial to Washington, the Mason.

 

Our Grand Lodge has since been honored by having a director on the governing board of the memorial. Harry W. Bundy, Grand Secretary, is presently serving in this capacity.

 

Since 1923 our Grand Jurisdiction has maintained a special committee to publicize the Memorial and obtain funds for it. Lodges contribute $1 for each brother raised and there are also voluntary contributions.

 

As a feature of this centennial, M. W. Bro. Leon H. Snyder this year in behalf of all Colorado Masons made final payment on a gift of two mammoth bronze doors in the rotunda of the Memorial. This contribution totaling $18,000 was the suggestion of M. W. Bro. Aubrey D. Spann.

 

TRUSTEES OF THE BENEVOLENT FUND

The Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund was incorporated in 1912 to administer the charities of the Grand Lodge. Started with a donation of $60 in 1900 by E. LeNeve Foster, the amount of his expenses as Grand Lecturer that year, the five divisions controlled by the trustees now have a book value approaching two and one half million dollars. These include the Colorado Masons Benevolent Fund, the Colorado Soldier Masons War Relief, the Robert Russell Foundation Fund, the Charles H. Jacobson (Past Grand Secretary) Memorial Educational Fund, and the Charles L. Young (Past Grand Lecturer) Memorial Scholarship Fund.

 

ARMED FORCES WELFARE COMMITTEE

Members of the Armed Forces in Veterans Hospitals have been visited and helped by members of our Armed Forces Welfare committee since World War 1. The ministrations of this committee are statewide with active members in the Denver, Fort Lyon, Grand Junction, and Colorado Springs areas.

 

MASONIC EDUCATION COMMITTEE

To spread Masonic light beyond the ritual, our committee on Masonic Education since 1936 has furnished 179 papers to be read in Lodge, has provided scores of speakers on craft subjects, has publicized and promoted the Grand Lodge Library, has assisted in forming the Research Lodge of Colorado, and has been an active participant in the Rocky Mountain Masonic Conference.

 

PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMMITTEE

Believing in the public schools as the fundamental bulwark of our democracy, practically all constituent Lodges cooperate every year with the Grand Lodge committee sponsoring Public Schools Week. Visits to schools, celebrations, special programs, essay and speech contests, awards, honors to teachers and administrators, and reams of publicity have focused attention on this important project.

 

COLORADO "WORK"

At its first meeting on August 2nd, 1861, the new Grand Lodge of Colorado:

 

"Resolved, That a school of instruction be established by this Grand Lodge and that at least one day, at each Grand Communication, be set aside for the purpose of instruction by the M. W. Grand Master, in order that uniformity in the work may be obtained in this Jurisdiction.

 

"Resolved, That the work of this Jurisdiction be adopted as exemplified in the present Grand Lodge."

 

Just what this work was is not known. Golden City Lodge was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Kansas and set up by a well-qualified Kansas Mason. Our Grand Lodge was formed in the hall of Golden Lodge. I. E. Hardy of Golden City was the first Grand Lecturer. The first Grand Master was Past Master of a Kansas Lodge. So it might be inferred that this first work was "Kansas Work."

 

But there was opportunity for Nebraska influence, too. Two of the three lodges were chartered by Nebraska. A Past Deputy Grand Master of Nebraska was present at our organization. Our first Grand Master had been an officer of the Grand Lodge of Nebraska, as well as a Kansas Past Master. The first constitution was that of Nebraska, modified only to suit the conditions of the new Grand Jurisdiction.

 

But it was difficult to achieve uniformity. Each Master probably thought the work of his home jurisdiction the best. Distances between Lodges, the presence of hostile Indians on the way' and the extreme vicissitudes of travel made it almost impossible for Grand Master or Grand Lecturer to visit lodges and demonstrate the official work.

 

In 1878, Grand Master C. J. Hart reported:

 

"We have adopted a uniform work and enacted laws prohibiting the introduction of any other among our Lodges and yet, notwithstanding this, the work in this Jurisdiction is almost as varied as the colors of Joseph's coat."

 

In succeeding years, several attempts were made to correct this situation, including use of District Deputy Grand Lecturers. This latter failed because men could not give time to Masonic work to the neglect of their business when travel took so long and was so hazardous.

 

A committee of five Past Grand Masters observed in 1882: "That the work as presented by the Grand Lecturer is in its essential features the same as the ALLYN WESTON work so long used in this Jurisdiction."

 

Allyn Weston had been made a Mason in Michigan where for years he published a Masonic magazine, "The Ashlar." He came to Colorado in 1861 and at the first Annual Communication in December of that year was appointed Grand Lecturer, when he, no doubt, introduced his Michigan work into the new grand body. A year later he was elected Grand Master.

 

The Allyn Weston work, with few changes, continued until 1911, when the Custodians of the Work revised it somewhat.

 

In 1915 Grand Lecturer W. W. Cooper, later Grand Secretary, traced the derivation of the esoteric Colorado work:

 

"... Our line of descent is fairly clear. Beginning with Webb, we next have Gleason and Fowle, then Barney, and through Michigan, Colorado. It must be remembered, however, that the Barney work, as taught by him to Willson in Vermont in 1818, is not the same Barney work that we have inherited. The stream has been clouded, possibly it has been purified by additions and mingling's.

 

"The Brother Willson above referred to, subsequent to 1818, went to Iowa and Kansas, and the system of lectures which he learned from Barney in 1818 was adopted by those two jurisdictions.

 

"I think there is no doubt that Vermont, Iowa and Kansas have a better title to the original work of 1818 (whatever it was) than have Michigan, Illinois, and Colorado. Whether the original Barney-Gleason-Webb work of 1818 is better than the modified Barney-Gleason-Webb work of Colorado is another question."

 

The 1911 revision is still in effect. The services of the Grand Lecturer were augmented in 1949 by the return of a system of District Deputy Lecturers, made feasible by modern transportation. It is conceded we now enjoy the greatest ritualistic uniformity of our century of existence.

 

THE COLORADO MONITOR

There was no official Monitor for this Jurisdiction until 1906. In 1900 the Jurisprudence committee reported:

 

"In our opinion the Mackey Manual now in use meets the demands of our officers and lodges. In view of the fact it is so generally satisfactory and so generally used we recommend that no change be made."

 

In 1906, however, the McCoy manual was adopted as the official Monitor and its use recommended throughout the Jurisdiction. This proved unsatisfactory so that Custodians of the Work prepared a Monitor that harmonized completely with the new revision of the esoteric work. This monitor, "The Colorado Craftsmen", was adopted in 1911 and is still in use.

 

PROMINENT CRAFTSMEN OF THE PAST

John Milton Chivington, first Grand Master, was one of the territory's most colorful pioneers. An Ohio churchman, he was made a Mason in his home state and asserted leadership in Masonry where ever he lived.

 

In 1884 he was ordered to Kansas City, Kansas, as a missionary to the Wyandotte Indians. There he served as Master of a Lodge.

 

He moved "up river" to Omaha where he became Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Nebraska. In 1860 he was sent to the Rocky Mountain region as the Presiding Elder to establish the Methodist church in the new gold district.

 

Through his leadership two regular lodges were organized under the Grand Lodge of Nebraska, Summit Lodge at Parkville and Rocky Mountain Lodge at Gold Hill.

 

Colonel Chivington is remembered as the minister of the church who responded to his country's need to teach the Indian that the trails must be open for the white man to come and go in peace.

 

Allyn Weston, first Grand Lecturer and Second Grand Master, is responsible for the Colorado ritual. A Michigan Mason originally, for many years he published the Masonic Magazine "The Ashlar."

 

Henry M. Teller, third Grand Master, probably was the ablest man early Colorado produced. His foresight and ability in seven years as Grand Master guided the craft through a trying period. He served as Governor, United States Senator, and prominent cabinet member.

 

Lawrence N. Greenleaf, Grand Master in 1880, was nationally known as the Poet Laureate of Freemasonry, as Masonic editor, and writer and interpreter of correspondence reviews. His very human poem "The Lodge Room Over Simpkins Store" is a favorite of Masonic orators.

 

Henry Allen, organizer and first Master of Auraria Lodge U. D., is considered the father of Masonry in Colorado.

 

He was raised in Chariton (Iowa) Lodge No. 63 in 1855 and transferred his membership to a lodge in Council Bluffs, where he was postmaster from December 9th, 1857 to September 27th, 1858.

 

Helping to establish the town of Auraria, he became its first postmaster.

 

The Auraria directory of 1859 lists the Real Estate firm of Henry Allen, W. M. Slaughter, and R. Sopris, all Auraria Lodge members.

 

Brother Allen participated prominently in the Constitutional Convention of 1859 for the proposed Territory of Jefferson.

 

Leaving in the early sixties, he assisted in forming a new Lodge at Idaho City, Idaho, in 1864. He also helped in the pioneer Masonry of both Boise City, Idaho, and Helena, Montana, where he later moved.

 

MEMORABLE CORNERSTONES

The first cornerstone laying ceremony in 1870 was performed against Grand Master Henry M. Teller's better judgment. It was for the Denver Pacific Railway Company's depot in Denver, a building he considered was to be used for commercial purposes only. However, a committee from the Masonic bodies of Denver thought more harm might come from refusing than from performing the ceremonies, so he reluctantly consented. M. W. Bro. George M. Randall, Past Grand Master of Massachusetts, presided.

 

The cornerstone of the Masonic edifice at Sixteenth and Welton streets in Denver was laid on July 3rd, 1890. Every Grand Officer but one was present despite difficulties of travel.

 

The following day the cornerstone of the State Capitol was laid. A Masonic choir of a thousand voices furnished music.

 

When the Pueblo County courthouse cornerstone was laid in 1908, money was collected for the relief of workmen who might be injured during the construction. Midway through the building period a workman fell from a scaffold, breaking both legs and arms. Amputation was necessary. He was given a portion of the fund then and the remainder at the building's completion as there were no other injuries.

 

When the Pueblo Police building was erected in 1949 the Grand Lodge was asked to lay the cornerstone. Certain factions objected to a Masonic ceremony, calling Masonry a decadent organization. Over 850 Masons from Pueblo and the Arkansas valley, bringing aprons from their home lodges, marched in the procession from the lodge hall to the building site to show Masonry's strength.

 

Incumbent Grand Master Leon H. Snyder faced a new challenge in cornerstones this year. At the Adams County Courthouse in Brighton, he was asked to lay a square cornerstone in the northeast corner of a perfectly round building. At last squaring a circle?

 

TREATMENT OF EARLY DAY VISITORS

With a transient and shifting population of the frontier state and the desire of Brethren to mingle with their kind, there were a great many examinations of visitors in the early days.

 

M. W. Bro. Greenleaf in 1881 chided the members gently: "Visiting Brethren in some few instances have entered complaint in regard to their treatment by examining committees in Colorado. While investigation tends to show that the discourtesy complained of was rather that of manner than of intention, the feelings of some were very much hurt and they left the state with a bad opinion of Masons in this high altitude. It will therefore do no harm to call your attention to the importance of a kind, affable, and courteous reception of the stranger at our gates, and that you afford him every opportunity to prove himself of our Brethren and kin, and if entitled, to enter within the courts."

 

THE PAST

In 1915, fifty years after he had served the Grand Lodge as its fifth Grand Master, M. W. Bro. Chase Withrow of Black Hawk, No. 11, was asked to tell the Grand Communication of early times. He recalled: "In 1866, and along in that neighborhood, the Grand Lodge consisted of not to exceed 40 members. It met alternately in Central City and Denver for several years. Of those who took the greatest interest in the Fraternity the majority of them, at least, lived in Gilpin County, which was the important county of the state. Among them were Grand Masters Henry M. Teller and A. J. Van Deren...

 

"In those Lodges the work was an important feature, and it was by common consent a rule of our Lodges that no brother would be elected Master until after he had conferred the three degrees. . . There was no Masonic regulation to that effect but it was adopted as a rule of the Lodge that a Brother would not be elected Master until he had conferred the three degrees without help. . .

 

"Occasionally we had a pretty serious time in having a Grand Lodge Communication at all . . . Once Bro's. O. B. Brown and others snowshoed across the range to get to Central City. Sometimes they didn't get there at all and at times it was pretty difficult to get from Central to Denver. We had stage coaches but they were not absolutely sure and snow stopped them at times, but the interest was not excelled by the present time. Every member of the Grand Lodge and every member of a Lodge took such interest in the institution that it made it live and grow and succeed. In those days, the country was new and we were, most of us, strangers to one another but I notice that the men at that time were judges of human character. A man who was made a Mason was a credit to the institution. Our members were honorable men, and men of high standing-such men as Bro. Teller, Bro. Chivington, Bro. Orahood, and others."

 

THE PAST AND THE FUTURE

During the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Grand Lodge, Henry M. Teller, seven times Grand Master during the '60's and early '70's was presented with a book containing his complete Masonic record and references to many phases of his brilliant political career. It was enclosed in a solid silver case, an appropriate memento as he had been the nation's leading advocate of the free coinage of silver for many decades.

 

In his remarks he spoke not only of the past but the future of Colorado Masonry:

 

"Those days we took Masonry as we found it, and I believe we have improved it. I do not mean in the ritual, but I now think that we have a higher idea of it than we had 50 years ago, for if we did not, we would not keep up with the progress in the world. . . When we organized this Grand Lodge there was no law of Masonry here that so closely guarded the portals of Masonry (as the temperance question.) We took in men of doubtful character; at all events, we took in men who would dissipate somewhat, but you must remember that the world has progressed in the matter of temperance, for I can recollect that it was customary in most places to find a decanter on a side table that contained liquor. It was customary to invite every man that came in-and sometimes women-to have a social glass and in many cases it would have been regarded as an offense against good manners had they declined. . . Lodges were in the beginning nothing more than a social gathering, a drinking bout. We have nothing of that kind now.

 

"I have a general acquaintance in the United States such as few men have. I have met Masons in every part of the United States for in my younger days I took great pleasure in visiting different Lodges. When I think about it, I think Masons of this state are a better class than the Masons were when I was made a Mason. . . You should always endeavor to retain the same character. This can be done when every man does his duty in guarding the portals of the lodge. . .

 

"Fifty years from now we will have a centennial. I have wondered whether our order will continue to progress and improve and whether we will have a better membership fifty years from now than we have now. I do not suppose we will unless the human race grows universally better. . . If Masons continue to maintain the high standard, you may be sure they will be just as good or a little better fifty years from now."