Freemasonry History
Freemasonry dates back to the ancient stone masons, but modern Masonry is traced back to 1717, when four existing Lodges gathered together at the Goose and Gridiron Ale-house in St. Paul’s Church-yard in London. There, the four Lodges formed and constituted themselves a Grand Lodge. Freemasonry in England is governed by the Premier Grand Lodge of England.
Grand Lodge of Ohio History
The Grand Lodge of Ohio was formed on January 4-8, 1808 by five of the six masonic Lodges then meeting in Ohio. The convention was held in the statehouse at Chillicothe, and on January 7th, Rufus Putnam was elected Grand Master of Masons in Ohio.
The Grand Lodge of Ohio is governed by the Grand Master, and the line of officers that are either elected or appointed to those positions. Six members are elected into the Grand Line, and six are appointed by the Grand Master. The picture above is of the current Grand Lodge officers.
Most Worshipful
Timothy S. Wheeland
Our current Grand Master is Most Worshipful Brother Timothy S. Wheeland. If you would like to read his letter to the brethren, please click the link below.
Lebanon Lodge No. 26 History
Lebanon Masonic Lodge (No. 26) was chartered in January 1815. The first meetings were held in a brick building on Broadway, two doors north of it’s current location. In 1831, the Masonic Lodge and Lebanon Chapter No. 4 Royal Arch Masons (instituted in 1817), moved their joint meeting room to the third floor of a building where LCNB currently stands. Starting in 1842, the meetings were held in what is now the Golden Lamb.
In 1846, the Masons had erected the third floor of the first Court House and met there until 1859. The Court House burned down September 1, 1874. The Lebanon Opera House replaced the Court House. The 1846 fire was considered “the most disastrous fire in the history of Lebanon.” That is, until the Christmas Day fire in 1832. The Opera House also burned down on Christmas morning in 1932 and is now the current site for the city building.
This building was erected in 1859. The cornerstone was laid July 4th by Horace M. Stokes, the Grand Master of Ohio. The local Odd Fellows built an adjoining building that used a common entrance. Upon reaching the third floor, the Odd Fellows would turn left and the Masons would turn right into their respective meeting rooms.
In 1898, the Odd Fellows sold their building to the Masons. The second floor has since been converted into office space and the third floor provides storage for the four Masonic bodies (Lebanon Lodge No. 26, Lebanon Chapter No. 5, Royal Arch Masons, Lebanon Council No. 134, Royal and Select Masters, and Miami Commandery No. 22, Knights Templar) along with Eastern Star No. 343 and an elevator that runs between the second and third floors.
The dining room and current facade was added in 1931. On Christmas morning 1932, the building and recent renovations were threatened by fire when Lebanon Opera House was engulfed in flames due to arson. The Opera House fire damaged or destroyed other buildings in Lebanon due to a northern breeze. Several small fires on the Masonic Temple roof threatened this building as well. These small fires were extinguished by Marion Mulford with his coat.
