TheH T Histor ryofP Phoen nixLo odgeN No.

8 Ancie A entFreean ndAcc cepted dMas sons Fayet F tteville,NorthCa arolin na

TheHistoryofPhoenixLodgeNo.8 AncientFreeandAcceptedMasons Fayetteville,NorthCarolina

During the colonial period of our nation, warrants and charters were issued by the several grand lodges of Europe and England to selected individuals in America for the purpose of operating as a Provincial Grand Lodge. Some colonial territories had as many as four of these grand lodges in operation. Historical references and documentation indicate that two of these Provincial Grand Lodges organized by England and Scotland were operating, independently, within the North Carolina territory. A commission from the Grand Lodge of England was issued in 1771 to Colonel Joseph Montfort of Halifax to be Provincial Grand Master of and for America. Also during that period, a charter was granted to a Scottish military lodge later known as Union. There were also a number of other military and irregular lodges organized in the state by the Scots and Europeans who had settled in those areas. There were a number of stories about one of the regular lodges established in the territory which was a Highland Scottish Regimental lodge established around 1736 in the colonial settlement of Cross Creek known as Union Lodge, although this was not the original lodge's name. Since the Grand Lodge of Scotland was organized in 1736, Union Lodge would have been one of the earliest overseas

lodges to have been granted a charter by this hallowed institution if this could have been proven; but any documentation to verify that fact has long been lost or was not properly recorded. Notes and references from early Union Lodge Past Masters do indicate; however, that Union Lodge was originally granted a provincial charter by the Grand Lodge of Scotland on February 19, 1764. One of the practices conducted by many of the Scotch and Scandinavian lodges then and today is that much, if not all, of the work and business was conducted in the Entered Apprentice, or First degree. Because of this many of the brethren from Union Lodge received only the Entered Apprentice, or First Degree, and much of the lodge business was conducted in that degree; a practice that continued well into the early 1800's. Additionally, the different rites or ceremonies practiced in the various lodges along with the language barriers made visitation between colonial lodges most perplexing; and in some cases, impossible. At the time that Union Lodge and other military and naval lodges were in operation, it was not necessary to obtain a registered charter to form such a lodge, and seven or more masons would have been sufficient to establish one. Before the military regiment was to move on the lodge master would receive a sort of dispensation from the regimental master to continue to meet and conduct work as a lodge; until such time as they could register in a grand lodge. It should be noted that the Highland Scots who settled in that part of North Carolina would certainly not pay allegiance to a British provincial grand lodge so remained loyal to their country until they could be granted their own charter.

Unfortunately, many of the military charters were rarely registered in any grand lodge books and many of them were destroyed during the revolutionary war, or by time, or fire, as pointed out earlier; since such documentation has long been lost, one can only reference the writings and stories from the early founders about the exact origins of Union Lodge. At end of the Revolutionary War in 1783, the established regular lodges reorganized; since, as was noted earlier, most of the records and lodge buildings had been destroyed. Also during that year, the towns of Campbelltown and Cross Creek merged to become Fayetteville in honor of the Revolutionary War hero General Lafayette. He later visited Fayetteville and Phoenix Lodge in 1825 to express his appreciation of the gesture. Also, after the war, some commonality of work was needed in the lodges so all provincial grand lodges were dissolved and Ancient York lodges in North Carolina were consolidated and created for recognition and visitation purposes until a grand lodge could be established. Upon suggestion from Union Lodge Past Master, Colonel James Emmett, a letter was drafted on January 1, 1787 from Union Lodge in Fayetteville to the other lodges to meet there on Saints John Day, June 24th, for the purpose of organizing the Grand Lodge of North Carolina; but, owing to the great distances to be traveled along with late mailing of the letters only four delegates arrived; which was hardly sufficient to conduct business. The delegates from the town of New Bern were asked to draft a subsequent letter and the next meeting was held in December of that year in the town of Tarboro. At the June, 1787 meeting conducted at Fayetteville, a number of

distinguished visitors along with Union Lodge officers, John Winslow and James Porterfield (Phoenix Lodge's first Master), presented a petition to expunge the name Union Lodge and replace it with Phoenix Lodge; which is the name our lodge now bears. An overwhelming majority voted to grant the change. The membership of the lodge at this time totaled about 60 members. In 1788, Phoenix lodge participated at the convention in Hillsboro to deliberate whether North Carolina would accept, or reject, the new United States Constitution. At this meeting, the newly elected Grand Master of Masons of North Carolina, Samuel Johnston, was elected as President of the upcoming Constitutional Conventions, the last of which was held in Fayetteville. At this period in time, Phoenix Lodge and other lodges were still working under dispensations and colonial charters. It was nearly five years until charters from the Grand Lodge were granted; due to the burden of proof of establishing charter dates for the purposes of assigning numbers. Due to lack of documentation at the time, the Phoenix Lodge charter was not granted until 1793; and even then number 8 was as low as the Grand Lodge could commission. Later, in 1799, Phoenix Lodge applied to the newly organized North Carolina General Assembly for a formal charter which was granted and received in 1801. Thus, Phoenix Lodge has two legal charters, the last of which is currently used as the official charter. In the beginning, the brethren of Phoenix Lodge of Ancient York Masons held their meetings at the home of Colonel Lee Dkeyser, who lived between the old State House (now the site of the Market House) and Old Street. Afterwards, when his home was destroyed by fire a new location for the lodge was needed; and a

Masonic temple dedicated to the Most High was erected on Green Street. Blue Lodge, and later, York Rite meetings were attended in the building. In 1793, the lot upon which our present lodge building is located was deeded in perpetual trust by local realtor James Hogg, a zealous and worthy Mason. The cornerstone for the original Phoenix Lodge building was laid on Saints John Day, June 25, 1793 in a lavish ceremony on Mason Street near the corner of Moore's Lane (now Arch Street) on the spot known as Saints John Square. When Fayetteville celebrated the first

celebration of George Washington's birthday in 1797, the local citizens ended their parade with a celebration in the main dining area of Phoenix Lodge. Over the years, the grand building had served as the town's only theater, a school, and a temporary home to a church and residents who had lost their homes during the great Fayetteville fire of 1831. Later, during the period of anti-Masonic persecution in the 1830's and 1840's lodge membership declined dramatically. The lodge building fell into such disrepair it was reluctantly torn down and rebuilt in 1858. The mid-portion of the present Phoenix Lodge building is the rebuilt structure that incorporated much of the timbers and bricks from the 1793 building. The outer-wings of the building were added in 1949. The city and citizens of Fayetteville have long played a proud and active part in the history of our nation, North Carolina, and North Carolina masonry. It was here that the early General Assembly met with a good deal of members of Phoenix Lodge doing their duty as state representatives. It was here that the Grand Lodge of North Carolina granted a charter to form the Grand Lodge of Tennessee; which at the time was considered a territory of the state. It was one of

the earliest records in the United States in which a grand lodge of one state received its charter from the grand lodge of another state (South Carolina granted Louisiana its charter). Four past masters of Phoenix Lodge went on to become grand masters: John A. Cameron, John Louis Taylor, Robert Strange, and John Huske Anderson. Past Grand Master Anderson and Past Grand Master Charles B. Newcomb later went to Scotland in an attempt to find written documentation regarding Union Lodge. For some time it was thought that Union Lodge took its name from a Lodge Union chartered in Holland in 1764 by the grand lodge of Scotland. It was a military lodge in the Scots Brigade of the States Union, as Holland was known under the command of General Marrioribanks. Unfortunately, the trip produced nothing that could corroborate that theory or document the exact date of Union Lodges establishment by the Grand Lodge of Scotland. Had they known at the time that Union Lodge was not the original name, they probably would have found proof of the original charter granted. Documents from the state, the Grand Lodge of North Carolina and communications from other lodges of that period of North Carolina history prove that Union Lodge did exist in the mid-to-latter part of the 18th century. Also on record is that these brethren who later founded Phoenix Lodge went on to contribute to the long and rich history not only of Fayetteville, but to the State of North Carolina and our Nation as well. When President George Washington passed through North Carolina on his way to South Carolina and back, his escort was Congressman William Barry Grove, a

member of Phoenix Lodge. William R. King, a member of Phoenix Lodge, was the longest serving senator in history and elected as Vice President to Franklin Pierce in 1853; but died in 1854 before being able to serve his term. To paraphrase an eloquent ritual, "The lapse of time, the ruthless hand of ignorance, and the devastations of war, have laid waste and destroyed many valuable monuments of antiquity, on which the utmost exertions of human genius have been employed [Phoenix Lodge and] Freemasonry, notwithstanding, has still survived."

Credit: The exact author of this paper is unknown due to the passage of time; however, the past and present secretaries of Phoenix Lodge No. 8 are credited with making it available to the Brethren and general public.