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Introduction When we reflect upon the strength and accomplishment of Freemasonry in Louisville. It is curious to note that it had its genesis in the neighboring and picturesque hamlet of Middletown, Ky., twelve miles away in an easterly direction. There in the Fall of 1801 was born the Lodge destined to not only start the Masonic history of the metropolis but become through the acts of time the sole recorder of the annals of the Craft for nearly the first half century of that history. Abraham’s Lodge was the name bestowed upon this pioneer Masonic body by its founders. When later they agreed to a removal of their Lodge to Louisville to give the city its first Masonic society they demonstrated a vision of the future that the fleeting years have paid tribute to. Abraham’s Lodge lives in Louisville today as one of the oldest Masonic Lodges in the West and save for a shortening of its name to Abraham, changed but little in the flight of a century and a quarter. In point of age Abraham Lodge stands fourth among the Lodges of Kentucky, being preceded by Lexington Lodge No. 1, of Lexington, Hiram Lodge No. 4, of Frankfort, and Solomon’s Lodge No. 5, of Shelbyville, the survivors of the group of five lodges that formed the Grand Lodge of Kentucky in 1800. Number Eight was the third Lodge organized in the western country after the severance of that territory from the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Virginia. Mortality among its sisters has left Abraham Lodge the oldest living offspring of the first Grand Lodge organized west of the Allegheny Mountains. Less than fifteen years separate the ages of Abraham Lodge and its elder sisters. Number Eight has been called the Mother Lodge of Louisville and the endearment appears to be not undeserved. When the Tyler summoned the brethren for the first Masonic communication held in Louisville hardly a score constituted the strength of the Craft. In the years that have followed the institution has grown to count its votaries by thousands while the number of Masonic bodies have multiplied to more than twice as many Lodges as there were Masons in the beginning. Several of the latter including the largest among them (Preston) bears the names of Craftsmen who first saw Masonic light within the tyled precincts of Abraham Lodge and few are those that did not draw upon Number Eight for some of their charter members and first officers. Numerous petitions for the establishment of Lodges have been presented to the Grand Lodge through the offices of Abraham and many of the successful petitioners adopted their sponsor's constitution and by-laws to serve them until their own could be formulated. In addition Abraham Lodge contributed much to the establishment of Freemasonry in the state of Indiana and many of the first officers of the Grand Lodge of that jurisdiction were former members of the Lodge at Louisville. Aside from its distinction in Masonic circles Abraham Lodge’s place as a civic institution is noteworthy. Easily the oldest living organization that Louisville possesses it appears highly probable that Number Eight was also the city’s first regularly organized society. The religious denominations are perhaps the Lodges nearest rival for the latter honor, but even they hardly approach within striking distance of ante-dating Number Eight’s establishment. The first known congregation is that of the Methodists who organized several years after the arrival of the first Masonic Lodge at the Falls. Abraham Lodge’s achievement of out-living the age in which it was born has not been one devoid of struggle and many lean years are behind it. A knowledge of the difficulties under which Number Eight has labored yields added charm to its history and the greetings of the anniversaries as they roll by. Beginning with the long period of idleness resulting from the delayed ceremony instituting the Lodge with the necessity of a removal to Louisville following close by. Abraham has weathered many storms. Oftimes its accounts were hopelessly tangled its treasury empty and its officers recalcitrant. Dissension among the members once raised its head and an attempt to dissolve the Lodge was made. Yet harmony always eventually prevailed and many financial crises were met by the members voluntarily pay their dues far in advance. Although the life-work of Abraham Lodge has attracted the pens of many writers, including the gifted Rob Morris, an adequate history of Number Eight is yet to be written. Owing to the unfortunate loss of many of the minutes much information regarding the Lodge’s labors has been blotted out and but meager details can be gleaned of some of the most important events. Of the little that remains, however, it can be said that it yields something of far more interest than the usual unimposing array of dates and figures. The story of Abraham Lodge and its members is one in which there is inter-mingled an account of the times in which the Lodge has lived—a story that begins with the little group of patriots left on the now vanished Corn Island, by Gen. George Rogers Clark, to guard the rear defenses, while he hurried on to win an empire, and that marked the founding of Louisville. A story that possesses for the Craftsman an intimate glimpse of the growth of a vast and beautiful city from an unkempt river town. It is this that awaits the historian. In this sketch only an attempt to touch upon the most interesting events in the history of the Lodge has been made. It will be noted that the name Abraham Lodge is used throughout in preference to Abraham’s Lodge. The discarding of the possessive appellation was affected early in the life of the Lodge, although the only official sanction of the act appears to be in the mutual consent of secretaries and printers. For reasons of clarity the writer follows suit. The tourist traveling through Middletown, Ky., today views little more than the usual cross-roads collection – a cluster of homes, several churches, a post office and a scattered mercantile miscellany. With the beginning of the nineteenth century, however the place drew enough trade and social activity to rival the Louisville of that day. It boasted manufacturing and wholesale establishments, its retail shops were among the most widely patronized in the county while its tavern was popular and prosperous. During the full-bloom of its time as a trading center of the village’s apparently bright future influenced a group of Freemasons who were seeking to form an organization. Thus Middletown became the birth-place of Abraham Lodge, the first Masonic society organized in Jefferson County. The age-yellowed pages of the Grand Lodge records chronicle the birth of Abraham Lodge with the granting of the dispensation. The story of the Lodge begins some time earlier with the activities of formation and it is probable that the work of assembling the Craftsmen who were to become the charter members of Number Eight was a labor of months. The first known date revealing how long the Lodge was in the making is found with the petition to the Grand Master praying the granting of a dispensation for the holding of a lodge at Middletown. This petition was signed by James Taylor, Phillip Barbour and Sam N. Luckett, who have been generally credited with organizing Abraham Lodge. Seven other Master Masons were associated with them, however, and Number Eight began life with ten charter members, the names of Jonathan Taylor, William White, Thomas Crutchfield, Edward Evans, Samuel Lawrence, William Chambers and Nathaniel D. Anderson completing the roster. Of the ten Craftsmen who thus sponsored Abraham Lodge several lived in or near Middletown, one had his home in Louisville, while the balance resided at points as far distant as the present Oldham County. Samuel N. Luckett was the only one of the group who had been made a Mason in Kentucky—all of the others having received their degrees in one of the older jurisdictions of the eastern states before migrating westward as settlers. Prior to the formation of Abraham Lodge only three of the founders held their membership in a Kentucky lodge. This was the trio whose names were attached to the petition for a dispensation. Phillip Barbour became affiliated with Solomon’s Lodge No. 5 of Shelbyville, Ky., during the summer of 1801. Samuel L. Luckett was conferred a Master Mason by the same Lodge in late October of that year. On the evening of November 9, Number Five’s first communication following Luckett’s attainment of the sublime degree, James Taylor presented himself to the brethren of Shelbyville with his demit from Stephensburg Lodge No. 40, of Virginia, and a plea for membership to their Lodge. The ballot was spread at once and upon his election to Solomon’s Lodge, Taylor immediately presented the petition for Abraham Lodge at Middletown signed by himself, Barbour and Luckett, and requested its recommendation to the Grand Master by the brethren of Number Five. Edward Evans, one of the charter members of Number Eight, was a visitor of Solomon’s Lodge at the same communication, but appears to have taken no part in the presentation of the petition. Solomon’s Lodge readily granted the request of the Craft at Middletown and the plea for the dispensation was forwarded to the Grand Master James Morrison, who complied by issuing the warrant on December 21, 1801, and naming James Taylor, Master: Phillip Barbour, Senior Warden; and Sam L. Luckett, Junior Warden, of the newly-formed Lodge. The roster of officers was completed—probably by appointment of James Taylor—with Jonathan Taylor as secretary, William White, Treasurer: Thomas Crutchfield, Senior Deacon; Edward Evans, Junior Deacon, and Samuel Lawrence in the capacity of both Steward and Tyler. But little is known of the personal history of the charter members of Number Eight. James Taylor was the son of an officer of Washington’s army and a member of that famous Virginia-Kentucky family which has figured so prominently in American history. A man of aggressive type he appears to have been the leading spirit in the organization of Abraham Lodge and lived in the neighborhood of what is now Worthington, Ky. Occasionally Taylor took a hand in politics and served several terms in the Kentucky Legislature. After withdrawing from Number Eight he organized a second lodge at Middletown which early became defunct, and we find him later as a member of Fortitude Lodge No. 47, then holding its meetings at Westport, Ky. With this affiliation Taylor’s activities are lost to view. Phillip Barbour was also a native of Virginia. He appears to have settled in Kentucky a great many years prior to the formation of Abraham Lodge and is possibly the same Phillip Barbour who was a member of the convention that met at Danville, Ky., in 1785 for the purpose of forming Kentucky into a state. He lived near Worthington from which place he removed to Henderson, Ky., where he was instrumental in forming Jerusalem Lodge No. 9 of that place. Jonathan Taylor was a relative of James Taylor who was a relative of James Taylor. He was a Major in the U. S. Army and had served conspicuously in Indian warfare under St. Clair and mad Anthony Wayne. Of the balance of charter members nothing can be learned. When Abraham Lodge held its first meeting is unknown, while the meeting house can be designated only as "somewhere in Middletown". Undoubtedly, however the Lodge’s communications were started immediately with the granting of the dispensation and the place of meeting was likely in the home of one of the members. Two candidates for the degrees were received by the Lodge during the first winter. One of these was Willis Hoard, who lived near Middletown, and the other Rueben Eastin, a resident of Louisville. To Hoard possibly fell the honor of being the first initiated in Jefferson County. He had received both the Entered Apprentice and Fellow Craft degrees, while Eastin was yet an Entered Apprentice when their further progress was delayed by the unusual circumstances attending the Lodge’s receipt of its charter. The Grand Lodge of Kentucky at this time was holding two communications a year and the first session to follow the granting of the dispensation to Abraham Lodge came in April, 1802. To this meeting the Craft at Middletown sent as representative the Junior Deacon, Edward Evans. On April 6, the third day of the session. Evans successfully introduced a resolution granting a charter to Abraham. Upon the representative’s return to his brethren with the news, Number Eight rested until its officers were installed and the work formally started by the Grand Master with the delivery of the Charter. It proved to be a long rest for it was not until the latter part of the following September that the Grand Master, James Morrison, caused Abraham to be instituted. He sent as his proxy, Simon Adams, Worshipful Master of Solomon’s Lodge, to perform the ceremony but the exact date is unknown. When the lodge resumed its labors the two candidates were quickly raised to Master Masons. To seek redress for Number Eight’s long period of idleness both the Master, James Taylor, and the Senior Warden, Phillip Barbour, attended the Grand Lodge meeting in October, 1802, at Lexington. Their efforts were rewarded with a remission of the Lodge’s dues amounting to forty-eight pounds sterling as recorded in the Grand Lodge minutes. Despite the inauspicious start caused by the Grand Master’s delay in instituting Abraham Lodge, with the subsequent inactivity stretching from April to September, that stopped labor in the season best suited to the needs of a situation in what was little removed from a wilderness. Number Eight closed the first year with a substantial increase in membership. In the first report to the Grand Lodge, submitted in April, 1803, sixteen months after the Lodge had held its first meeting, the roster displayed a gain of ten members over a loss of three by withdrawal. The Removal to Louisville When Abraham Lodge was organized it became the frontier Masonic body of the northwest with jurisdiction extending over a wide area that embraced Louisville and the settlements in Indiana. Fed by the tide of home-seekers that flowed from across the mountains the region was rapidly growing in population. Numbered among its inhabitants there were a great many members of the Craft, the number of whom possessed demits from Lodges of a former residence anticipating the western advance of the institution and their presence formed a promising source of strength to greet its coming. Number Eight thus made its advent with a large and fertile field in which to labor and in view of the far-reaching claim there is little mystery hinged with the abandonment of the Lodge’s birth-place and the removal to Louisville. Middletown, with situation in the eastern extreme of the jurisdiction was ill-adapted for the purpose of a meeting-place from which to serve the vast region at the disposal of the Lodge and its selection rendered the huge claim of little avail. Too many of the Craft residing in the more populous western part of the jurisdiction Number Eight at Middletown was hardly more attractive than Number Five at Shelbyville and some of these brethren holding their memberships in the last named body continued to do so until Abraham Lodge removed to Louisville. Middletown possessed little to offset the disadvantageous location. The village had begun to shrink before the advances of its rival at the Falls and the unsettled nature of its inhabitants is shown in Number Eight’s losses by demit during the first few months. Louisville had early proven to be the most prolific source of accessions to the Lodge’s membership and Number Eight’s gain during the first year came largely from the vicinity of the Falls. With its home situated far from this most promising part of the entire jurisdiction Abraham Lodge's retention of the territory in its claim was jeopardized by the probability of the forming of a Lodge at Louisville where an invasion was undoubtedly imminent. Had it occurred with the subsequent cutting off of the western portions of the jurisdiction. Abraham Lodge’s survival would have been of short duration. Action on the removal of the Lodge was taken by the members some time during the winter of 1802-03, when they drew up a petition to the Grand Lodge seeking the necessary approval. To the spring meeting of the Grand Lodge that followed, the faithful Edward Evans was again sent as representative and on April 5, 1803, he presented the plea of his brethren at Middletown. The request for permission to remove the Lodge was readily granted and thus on the anniversary of the granting of the charter Number Eight became a Louisville institution. While Abraham Lodge’s migration further westward appears to have been an act of necessity, the change in meeting places was apparently not unattractive to the members. To a majority of them, Louisville was more easy of access, while to the others the change made little difference. As indicated by the records the decision to relocate the Lodge was arrived at with harmony prevailing among the Craft. Evans was the only member of Number Eight to appear before the Grand Lodge to argue the matter of the removal and when Abraham entered Louisville it carried with it an unaffected membership and its roster of officer’s intact save in one instance. Willis Hoard had been appointed Senior Deacon of the Lodge at the election held in December, 1802, and just prior to the removal he withdrew his membership. Shortly after the change in locations had been consummated he returned to the Lodge as a member and resumed his office—which is hardly indicative that his withdrawal had been actuated by rancor over the removal of the Lodge. The date of Abraham Lodge’s first meeting in Louisville rests on the pages of a missing minute book. Beyond question, however, little time was lost in carrying the charter and what property the Lodge possessed to the new home and calling the Craft in communication. This would place the time at about the middle of April, 1803. Fortunately Grand Lodge records save a roster of the officers and members who sponsored the initial Masonic labor at the Falls. Number Eight made its entrance in Louisville with a membership of twenty, consisting of sixteen Master Masons, three Fellow Crafts, and one Entered Apprentice. The Master Masons were Sam N. Luckett, Wm. Chambers, Alexander Woodrow, John Pickett, John Edwards, Thos. Crutchfield, Ruben Eastin, Edward Evans, William Sullivan, James Murray, James Taylor, Phillip Barbour, Jonathan Taylor, William White, David L. Ward and John Evans, Jr. The Fellow Crafts were Richard Finley, Will Jones and John James, while the Entered Apprentice was Jonathan Thomas. In the list of officers there were few changes over the roster with which the Lodge had started under dispensation. James Taylor was Worshipful Master and occupied the Lodge’s highest office in the first meeting at Louisville as he had done at Middletown. Phillip Barbour likewise continued as Senior Warden but Edward Evans had replaced Samuel N. Luckett as Junior Warden. Jonathan Taylor, Secretary, and William White, Treasurer, retained their offices. As already noted the withdrawal of Willis Hoard had left the Lodge without the services of a regular Senior Deacon. David L. Ward was Junior Deacon while John Evans, Jr., served in the then combined offices of Steward and Tyler. A glimpse of Louisville at the time of the advent of Abraham Lodge would perhaps be interesting. Historians vary in estimating the population and one authority gives six hundred inhabitants for the beginning of 1800. While others cut this figure almost in half, it is probable that the high estimate was approximately correct in 1803 when Abraham Lodge arrived. In area the town reached to the present streets of Brook on the east, Twelfth on the west and Liberty on the south. None of the streets at that time had as yet arisen to the dignity of names and nearly ten years was to pass after the coming of Number Eight before the citizens found it necessary to style their thoroughfares. Much variance is also encountered in the estimate of the number of buildings in the place. It appears, however, that there were about two hundred homes comprising the town in 1803. The majority of these were log-cabin dwellings with a few stores, a market-house, a court-house, a jail and several taverns. A log-cabin church conducted by a Protestant Episcopal minister is said to have been located in the neighborhood of Twelfth and Main streets, then the principal part of town. The market-house was a log structure standing in the middle of Sixth street north of Main. Baxter Square, now a play-ground, was the town burial place and the scene of Louisville’s first Masonic funerals. A high and steep bank separated Main street from the river and at the time of Number Eight’s coming, the work of cutting it down to the present easy grade of the levee had been started. Viewed from the river Louisville presented a striking appearance to the traveler while the panorama of the Falls seen from the steep bank that rimmed the cluster of houses was one that earned the praise of all the early writers. Within the town, however, the prospect was not so pleasing. A vast number of ponds and lakes extended over much of the territory now occupied by the city. The streets were unpaved and tempered by the weather into mud holes or dust. The inhabitants paid little attention to street-lines in their building operations with the result that the houses strung along the town in uncertain fashion and many of the structures had their foundations planted in the streets themselves. The thoroughfares were like wise utilized for purposes other than mere passageway. Hog-pens, slaughtering pits, and brick-kilns, to name a few, shared the public right-of-way with the passerby. On the pages of the early history of Louisville may be found the names of many members of Abraham Lodge. Number Eight was often represented on the board of trustees that governed the town. When a bridge across Beargrass Creek, then entering the Ohio at the foot of the present Third street, was built by public subscription, several donors were of the Craft. The first town assessor was a one-time secretary of the Lodge. The first circuit court was opened with a Craftsman on the bench and the first newspaper was edited by a member of Number Eight. When the churches were eventually built, members of the Lodge were active in the work and rather curiously two of them were trustees of the first Roman Catholic Church erected in Louisville. Labor in the Early Days The first glimpse of Lodge routine in the early years comes with the oldest existing minutes of Number Eight which start with the election of officers and celebration of St. John’s Day on June 24, 1808. From the age-dimmed writings there can be gleaned an insight of the working of a Lodge of that period although the secretaries set down only the barest facts and not always all of these. Rarely was more than a few lines necessary to chronicle the acts of the Lodge and most of the space given to the names of the officers, members and visitors present. All Lodge business was conducted in the first degree and this probably accounts for the great number of the brethren who never progressed beyond initiation. An Entered Apprentice enjoyed the full benefits of the Lodge. By-Laws, constitution and regulations were set aside whenever convenient and often a petition was received and voted on and its signer initiated during the same evening because he was "generally known around the town". The number of degrees conferred upon a candidate at the same communication was generally governed by his wants and the time at the disposal of the Lodge. It was not unusual for two degrees to be conferred on a brother in a single evening. In other matters the brethren could be more strict and at times when acts of the Lodge were deemed irregular, correction would speedily follow at a later meeting. Of the Craft nothing was tolerated that might mar the name of the institution and even loud talking on the street was considered an offense. Visitors to the conferences of the Master Mason degree and festivals of the Lodge were charged admission. Rates for the former ranged from twenty-five cents to fifty-cents, while for the latter the fee was one dollar. The charges were more often suspended, however, than enforced and when the fees, were collected it was only on the occasion of a brother’s second visit. In view of the great many demitted Masons who were always present at the meetings the fees were no doubt justified. The practice of carrying a demit appears to have been a universal one and it was probably encouraged by the fact that a demitted Mason enjoyed practically the same advantages as an affiliated one. Lodge elections were held twice yearly, one on the day of St. John the Baptist and the other on that of St. John the Evangelist. Each was made the occasion of an all-day celebration with the Lodge election and installation of officers taking place in the morning. After finish of business in the lodge room a procession was formed and the Craft in their white aprons marched to the martial strains from fife and drum to a place of worship to hear a lecture on the patron saints. Before the churches were built these meetings were held in the court-house. Often a public dinner followed divine services and sometimes a grand ball was given in the evening. The minister was remunerated for his services by the Lodge and the sermons often published in book-form. Occasionally the orations were printed in the newspapers and through this some of them remain today. Early Masons of Louisville Within six months after the Lodge had started labor in its new home the roster was strengthened by the addition of eighteen members making a total of thirty-eight on the roll. For a number of years later the membership strength displays little change over the above mark. The failure to gain momentum was due to the liking of the Craft for demits. Number Eight’s roster during the first few years contained many notable names and we pause in this sketch to cite a few. Marston G. Clark, a nephew of Gen. George Rogers Clark and Grand Master of Indiana in 1825, served in the Battle of Tippecanoe. Col. G. R. C. Floyd, officer in the U. S. Army and commander of a regiment at Tippecanoe, Master of the Lodge in 1806. Dr. Richard Ferguson, Master of the Lodge for two terms and one of the early surgeons of Louisville. It was Ferguson who amputated the leg of Gen. George Rogers Clark with music from a drum and fife furnishing the only anesthetic. E. L. Hall, first tax assessor and an early secretary of Number Eight. It is Hall who is usually credited with the loss of the early minutes. Will Jones, Master of the first Lodge in Indiana. Worden Pope, affiliated with the Lodge in 1803 and Master for several terms. Pope was an attorney and politician and for a great many years he served as clerk on the circuit court. With John Gwathemy he served on the board of trustees of the first Catholic Church, although were neither of that faith. Gwathemy was the contractor who built the Grayson house, still standing next to the former Scottish Rite Cathedral on Sixth street. Samuel Vail, editor of the "Farmer’s Weekly", Louisville’s first newspaper. Vail borrowed type and press from a friend in Vermont and transported the equipment to the city to start publication. Later he joined the Army and served under Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans, where he was brevetted Major for gallantry in action. Dr. Wm. C. Galt, one of the early physicians of the city and Master of the Lodge in 1810. John Floyd, thought to be the same who removed to Virginia and was later elected governor of that state. General Washington Johnson, initiated in Abraham in 1806 and served as Master in 1813. In the interim Johnson demitted from Abraham, organized Vincennes Lodge at Vincennes, In., and thus became the founder of Masonry in that state. His return to Abraham came through his appointment as treasurer of Indiana territory, whose banking was done in Louisville. Johnson served two terms as Deputy Grand Master of Indiana, but was never elected Grand Master, as stated by Morris. Frances Penniston, editor of second newspaper published at Louisville. James Patton, first known Mason of Louisville and for several years, steward and landlord to the Lodge. Patton came to Louisville with Clark’s expedition and remained to guard the stores. No name in the history of the city stands out more prominently. He built the first stone residence in the town and was first licensed pilot to operate on the Ohio Falls. Patton sleeps in the abandoned cemetery at 16th and Jefferson streets unhonored and unsung by the Craft. Number Eight and the First Lodge in Indiana In 1806 Abraham Lodge presented to the Grand Master of Kentucky a petition from the Craft residing at Vincennes, In., praying for a dispensation to hold a Lodge in that town. The request was granted and Past Masters Richard Ferguson and Joshua Headington of No. 8 were named proxies of the Grand Master to start labor in the first Lodge of the Hoosier state. Owing to his medical practice Ferguson was unable to make the journey to Vincennes, while Headington was attending to some of his trading ventures at New Orleans. The dispensation elapsed and a second was asked for in 1808 and again granted. On this occasion Maj. Jonathan Taylor, former secretary of Abraham was instructed to represent the Grand Master and for the purpose he had conferred on him the unique honor of being made a past master by proclamation. Taylor journeyed to the Indiana town in September, 1809 and on his arrival there found that the officers of the Lodge, named by the Grand Master in the dispensation, were absent from the place and not likely to return for several months. In the emergency a new set of officers were assembled and installed. Will Jones, formerly of Abraham Lodge, Became Worshipful Master and General W. Johnston, Junior Warden. During 1809, Abraham Lodge began holding its meetings in the stone residence of Capt. James Patton at the northeast corner of Eighth and Main streets. The house consisted of two large rooms with a hall between and tradition has it that the Captain used to send his women-folk avisiting on the evenings of the Lodges communications. The Visit of Joseph Hamilton Daviess It was in Patton’s residence that Abraham Lodge held the called meetings presided over by the Grand Master Brother Joseph Hamilton Daviess who lost his life at the Battle of Tippecanoe. On his way to join Harrison’s army at Vincennes the Grand Master passed through Louisville and he availed himself of the opportunity to meet with the brethren. It was his last Lodge Visitation in Kentucky. A few weeks later Number Eight called another meeting to hold memorial services at the news of his death. Daviess’ arrival at the Falls appears to have been unheralded to the Craft and the meeting was opened late in the evening. Capt. Patton was absent from home, but the acting Tyler managed to summon sufficient of the members to fill the offices, and a candidate as well. James D. Breckenridge acted as Worshipful Master until Daviess assumed the station. The candidate, John H. Clark, an Entered Apprentice of two years’ standing, made better progress under the Grand Master’s direction and received both the Fellow Craft and Master Mason degrees during the evening. In 1813 Patton informed the Lodge that he expected to sell his residence and Number Eight found it necessary to seek a new home. Removal was made to Bother Arch Allen’s house on lot 186, located on the south side of Market street between Third and Fourth streets. Allen appears to have operated a tavern and the Lodge rented from him for about two years. The next removal carried the Lodge to Brother John Sutton’s house, the location of which is unknown. The meetings were held in Sutton’s building for nearly twelve years and expense accounts rendered by the landlord for whitewashing the walls, furnishing firewood and candles reveal the character of the Temple. With a membership of about forty Abraham Lodge was considered sufficiently large and in 1816 steps were taken to form another Lodge in the town. It was not until 1817, however, that the brethren of Number Eight would grant permission and Clark Lodge No. 51 thus made its advent. From that time on the various celebrations and events were conducted by the two Lodges and their histories entwine. Number Eight and Fifty-One Entertain President Monroe At the Saint John’s Day celebration of June 24, 1819, the two Lodges holding a joint celebration, entertained distinguished guests and Masons when James Monroe, President of the United States, and Gen. Andrew Jackson, hero of the Battle of New Orleans and later President, joined the Craft at a banquet given at Washington Hall, leading hotel of that day, and located at Second and Main streets. Strangely enough the minutes are silent regarding the visitors and details come from copies of the Public Advertiser, a newspaper published at that time by the famous editor, Shadrach Penn, a member of Clark Lodge. Worden Pope, one of Jackson’s most loyal supporters in Kentucky, was Master of Number Eight. On the morning of the festival Clark Lodge met in its hall at seven o’ clock and elected officers, while Number Eight opened its meeting in the same pace at nine o’ clock. After the finish of business the brethren proceeded to the Presbyterian Church, Fourth street south of Market, for divine services and to hear an oration by Maj. William Croghan, brother-in-law of George Rogers Clark, veteran of the Revolution and member of Clark Lodge. Penn informs us that the Masonic procession was one of the most brilliant ever witnessed in the western country. Unfortunately the editor neglected to say whether Monroe or Jackson were among the marchers. The banquet followed the church services and in the evening the guests were honored with a grand ball. Among the members of Abraham Lodge at this time we find Charles Minn Thurston, noted attorney of his day. Mann Butler, educator and historian. Butler’s history of Kentucky has earned him a place among the best of the early writers. It is now a rare and valuable book. James Rudd, Roman Catholic, and said to have been the first of that faith to settle in Louisville. Rudd was very active in Lodge affairs and often served on the St. John’s Day celebration committees. Thomas Joyes, commander of a regiment during the war of 1812, and served in the Battle of New Orleans, was secretary of the Lodge during the visit of Monroe and Jackson. Stephen Ormsby, first judge of the circuit court in Louisville and also first congressman from the city. John D. Colmesnil, another Roman Catholic and steamboat owner. Abraham Lodge and Clark Lodge in conjunction laid the cornerstone of the Louisville Hospital on June 28, 1822. This hospital stood on the same site now occupied by the city’s present modern institution. Louisville’s First Masonic Temple Is Started Dissatisfaction with the Lodge’s meeting-place became apparent in 1823, and steps were taken that eventually led to the building of the city’s first Masonic Temple. Number Eight at this time was still a tenant of John Sutton and shared its hall with the Louisville Royal Arch Chapter. Clark Lodge occupied another building, the location of which is not known. A committee from the three bodies was formed for the purpose of ascertaining whether a meeting-place could be secured in an apothecary’s shop then being built on Main street. After an inspection of the latter place the building was deemed unsuitable and the committee handed in a report recommending that all three organizations meet in Abraham’s hall provided that Sutton could be persuaded to place a lock on the door. Clark Lodge promptly vetoed the recommendation, lock or no lock. In 1824 the Baptist’s society approached the Lodges with a proposition asking the brethren to unite with the church in building a combined house of worship and Masonic Temple on a lot at the southwest corner of the present Fifth and Liberty streets. The offer was accepted and on July 27, 1824, the cornerstone of the building was laid. More than two years was to elapse, however, before the building was occupied. General Lafayette Visits The Craft in Louisville While the Temple was in the course of erection another famous visitor was entertained at a joint meeting of Abraham and Clark Lodges, in the latter’s meeting place. The guest was General Lafayette, a member of the Craft and honored by the American people for his assistance to the colonies in the struggle for independence. Lafayette was making a farewell tour of the states and he arrived by steamboat at Louisville on May 11, 1825. A composed of Worden Pope, Chas. M. Thurston, J. W. Denny, and Thomas Joyes from Number Eight, with Wm. Penny, John Rowan, Levi Tyler, R. P. Gist and W. Tompkins from No. 51, met the general upon his arrival and extended him a written invitation to meet with the Craft. A paragraph from the letter reads, "General, amid the universal homage by which a grateful people are manifesting their high sense of your eminent virtues and illustrious public services, tendering you in the face of the world the precious tribute of a nation’s love and veneration, it is with heartfelt pleasure we have observed you retiring for a moment from the glare of public admiration to interchange with your Masonic brethren those kind of fraternal sympathies so congenial with the benevolent impulses of a virtuous bosom". Lafayette accepted the invitation and at five o’ clock of the day of his arrival at Louisville he visited the Lodge accompanied by his son, George Washington Lafayette. One hundred and eight members of the Craft greeted him in the Lodge room with nearly the entire memberships of the two Lodges present. The visitors included Masons from a great many places in Kentucky and the states of New York, Indiana, Rhode Island, Ohio, Maryland, and far-off Iowa. The officers of Clark Lodge with R. P. Gist, Master, Levi Tyler, Senior Warden; G. L. Butler, Junior Warden; Leo George, Secretary; J. W. Bredon, Treasurer; I. Steelman, Senior Deacon; Willis Stewart, Junior Deacon; and William Murton, Tyler, occupied their stations and a committee headed by John Rowan, announced the guests. After the Craft had been seated the Rev. H. M. Shaw, pastor Christ Church, delivered an address of welcome, which Lafayette answered with an expression of his happiness over being so kindly received by the Lodges of Kentucky; whom he considered worthy daughters of those Virginia Lodges to whom Washington had been zealous a master. With the finish of the addresses the General was introduced to the Craft and refreshments were served. Lodge was closed after resolutions were introduced ordering that Rev. Shaw’s address and Lafayette’s reply be spread on the minutes. The Masonic Temple Is Completed After Difficulties Turning again to the unfinished Temple we learn from the minutes that in 1825, nearly a year after the cornerstone had been placed, a foreclosure was threatened on the building owing to the brothers behind in their payments of the lot. The cash was raised, however, and the building operations resumed. In August, 1826, the Temple was finally completed and the Lodges moved into their new quarters. It was not until 1830, however, before the deed was recorded. Louisville’s first Masonic Temple was a frame structure of three stories high, forty feet wide and seventy feet long. The plot of ground on which the building stood extended from Fifth street to Center and from Liberty to the first alley south. The building cost approximately sixty-five hundred dollars. The Baptists had exclusive use of the first and second floors while the Lodges and Chapter occupied the third. In the agreement entered into by the organizations considerable writing is devoted to a space in the building to be used by a bellman in the event it was decided to build a cupola on the roof for a bell and a bellman was necessary. Lean Years For Abraham Lodge At the time the first Masonic Temple was completed Abraham Lodge had but twenty-eight members. The anti-Masonic excitement induced by the Morgan incident started in 1826, and it is possible that the Lodges of Louisville were affected by it. Both Abraham and Clark continued the even tenor of their ways, however. More regularity in the observation of the rules and regulations are noted in the minutes and there were noteworthy gatherings at the various celebrations. In 1830 Abraham Lodge officiated at the cornerstone ceremonies of two Methodist Churches. In 1832 when one of the buildings had been completed a procession of one hundred and fifty of the Craft marched to the Church to attend services. Memorial services to express sorrow of the Craft over the death of Lafayette were conducted by Number Eight in July, 1834. The meeting was held in conjunction with Ziff Lodge of New Albany, Indiana. After the usual funeral services performed in the Lodge hall a procession was formed in which numerous other organizations of Louisville participated. An eulogy was pronounced by Brother N. Wiggington, presumably in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he was pastor. Discord in Number Eight made its appearance in November, 1837, when a group of the Craft, apparently taking advantage during the meeting when there were few of the regular officers present, passed a resolution surrendering the Lodge’s Charter. On the following meeting with the officers in their stations the resolution was declared illegal, unconstitutional, null and void, while the names of those who had fostered it were ordered spread on the minutes. Of the nature of the trouble nothing can be learned and it may have been only a playful method of teaching officers a lesson on the evils of being absent. At any rate harmony appears to have been quickly restored among the brethren. From 1838 to 1886 there is little in the history of Abraham beyond the usual routine of Lodge labor. Gas lights were installed in the Temple in 1840 and the Tyler ordered to sell the oil-lamps. In 1841 the Lodge decided to donate a hundred dollars for the establishment of a Widows and Orphans’ Home by the Grand Lodge. Memorial services for General Andrew Jackson were conducted in 1845 with an expense of twelve dollars for music. In 1850 the building on Fifth street was sold and Number Eight moved to Jacob’s Building at the southeast corner of Third and Market streets, where it continued until the Masonic Temple at Fourth and Jefferson was built. In 1851 a contribution to the building of the Washington monument at the capital was made. The Lodge minutes for the period stretching from 1851 to 1869 are missing and doubtless with them ate lost much interesting information regarding Number Eight during the Civil War. From Grand Lodge records we learn, however, that Abraham recovered its prosperity during the war between the states, although a great many of its members were serving in both armies. While many lodges in the state became defunct and the Grand Lodge had difficulty in securing a quorum at its meetings, Number Eight grew to be one of the largest in Kentucky and its membership ranged grew to be one of the largest in Kentucky and its membership ranged from a hundred to a hundred and fifty. At the laying of the cornerstone of the Masonic Widows and Orphans Home at 2nd and Avery streets, the Lodge was represented by a committee and at the dedication in 1878 its members marched in the procession of the Craft. The Union of Clark, Mt. Moriah and Antiquity Lodges with Number Eight With fifteen Masonic Lodges working in Louisville by 1886, some of them found it difficult to carry on and relief was sought by a merger with Abraham Lodge. The latter was itself finding the road a hard one and its membership had dropped from the high mark of one hundred and fifty of twenty years previous to less than sixty, while its treasury contained but little. The subject of consolidation was first broached as early as 1880 by Mt. Moriah Lodge whose members agreed to the absorption of the property, effects and membership of their Lodge by Number Eight. Such procedure was illegal and the matter rested until the latter part of 1886, when the subject was revived by Mt. Moriah, Clark and Antiquity Lodges who proposed a union with Number Eight. Committees were appointed to arrange the details consistent with Grand Lodge law and final consolidation was effected on December 27, 1886. With two hundred and fifty-two members on its roster Abraham Lodge emerged the largest lodge in Kentucky. The honor was, however, only fleeting. In the half century that stretched from the one hundredth to the one hundred and fiftieth years Abraham Lodge experienced what was probably the most active period of its long life. In this brief accounting only a glimpse can be taken at the events that stand out beyond the usual routine of a Lodge. Listing them they are: Celebration of the various anniversaries of the Lodge; Lodge work during two great World Wars; the far reaching improvement in the conference of the Master Mason degree; the state of the membership and Lodge finances and the difficulties in finding a meeting-place for Number Eight. The Anniversaries In 1901 Number Eight observed its One Hundredth Anniversary. Prior to this the brethren appear to have paid little or no attention to the Lodge’s birthdays. The Centennial was, however, marked in the grand manner and a pattern set for all anniversaries to follow. Theo. P. Storey appears to have been the moving spirit in the preparation for the event. Storey served two terms as master of the Lodge, the first in 1899 and the second in 1900. A tireless worker for Masonry, it can be said that much of Number Eight as it is known to the members of today is the result of fashioning at the hands of Storey. One of his innovations was the actual presentation of a lambskin apron to candidates for the Entered Apprentice degree. Prior to this it was the custom to present the apron to the candidate and then take it away from him after the ceremony was concluded. Storey changed all this. At the first conference of the Entered Apprentice degree following his election as master he came up with a dozen of the aprons purchased out of his own funds. Each candidate for the degree got an apron and was told to take it home and keep it. The startled members liked the idea and later the plan was officially adopted by the Lodge. Today it is a universal practice among the Lodges in Louisville. Storey brought up the matter of the Lodge Centennial during his first term as master. A committee to prepare for the event was named and the master made its secretary. The committeemen began their work immediately. It is related that Storey spent every Saturday afternoon for nearly two years at the Masonic Temple gathering material for a history of the Lodge. From Lodge minutes he selected a number of entries that told the story of the Lodge and members. In the Grand Lodge offices he dug through the records and made a complete list of members of the Lodge from the first meeting at Middletown down to the year of the Centennial. It was hard painstaking work without the benefit of a typewriter or modern methods of reproduction. Each name and paragraph was copied by hand and then carefully checked to see that no errors crept in. After all of the material had been compiled and approved by the committee it was printed in a "small volume bearing the title of ‘Storey’s History Of Abraham Lodge’." At the centennial the books were given to the members of the Lodge as mementos of the occasion. Today it is a rare volume. Besides reprinting the excerpts from the Lodge minutes and a roster of the members, there was a complete list of the names of every brother who had served the Lodge as an officer from master down to stewards and Tyler through the one hundred years. A history of the Lodge written in1858 by Rob Morris of Eastern Star fame was included in the book as also were some short historical sketches of the three Lodges that had merged with Number Eight in 1888. The book is a store-house of information regarding Abraham Lodge and Masonry in Louisville in the early days. In addition to the publication of the history of the Lodge there were two meetings held to celebrate the Centennial. One of these was a "Smoker" at the lodge meeting-place for all Masons of the city. The other was a banquet for the members and their wives held at the Scottish Rite Cathedral then standing on Sixth street north of Walnut. In the days when cigars were considered luxuries "Smoker" meetings were quite popular among the Craft. At these meetings there was usually no degree work. Cigars were passed out freely and after the hall was well filled with smoke all of those present were invited to make speeches. Everyone usually did. The one hundred and tenth birthday was celebrated in 1911 with a banquet at DeMolay Hall. The one hundred twentieth celebrated in 1921 was a more elaborate affair with a vaudeville show and a conference of the Master Mason degree at the Scottish Rite Cathedral. A banquet for the members at the Henry Watterson Hotel was sandwiched between the two events. In 1926 another banquet and a dance marked the one hundred twenty-fifth anniversary with DeMolay Hall again the scene of the party. The event was also marked by the publication of another history of the Lodge. The story of Mother Eight here printed is a reprint from the 1926 book with the addition of these last chapters bringing the history up to the present. In between these marked anniversaries the Lodge held many meetings to observe the birthdays as they rolled by. Most of these were special conferences of the Master Mason degree and reunion meetings of the members. They were always well attended and remembered. The War Years From its organization shortly after the close of the Revolution down to the present days of defense effort Abraham Lodge has numbered among its members the names of patriots who served with the Nation’s armed forces. There were brothers who had fought in the War for Independence and served with Clark in the Winning of the West. There were those who served in the War of 1812 and fought with Jackson at New Orleans. Members of Number Eight followed Taylor in Texas. During the War between the States there were members of Abraham Lodge who fought on both sides and there are those living today who remember some of the Johnny Rebs and the Yanks who in friendly fashion refought the battles of the great conflict at the close of Lodge meetings. In the Spanish-American War there were members of the Lodge in the old Louisville Legion that went to Cuba. The two great World Wars were no exceptions. About fifty members of the Lodge served in the first and about an equal number in the second. Unhappily no list at all was kept of the Lodge members who served in the first war while the record of names who served in the second is so incomplete as preclude its printing here. With its meeting-place in the center of Louisville and the great Zachary Taylor army camp at the city doors Abraham Lodge during the first World War entertained so many Masons in uniform that often the Lodge meetings took on the color of an army lodge. Many degrees were conferred on soldiers from the camp for sister Lodges of other jurisdictions. On one occasion the full three degrees were conferred upon a candidate at a single meeting. This unusual performance was done at the request of the Grand Lodge of Oklahoma with the permission of the Grand Master of Kentucky. During the first World War days Number Eight was forced to suspend its meetings for the first time in its history. The suspension lasted for a full month and was the result of orders issued by health authorities banning public meetings during the influenza epidemic that swept the country and killed people by the thousands. On its own the Lodge received a great many petitions for initiation both from men in uniform and civilians during these hectic war days and Lodge membership grew accordingly. The years of the second World War were not as colorful as those of the first. Camp Taylor was gone and Fort Knox had taken its place. Situated about thirty miles south of Louisville and with a Masonic Lodge of its own the Fort could well minister to its own Masonic needs and did. Few calls were made on the city Lodges for degree work. Abraham’s meeting-place was now De Molay Hall. The building was also the location of a Soldier’s and Sailor’s Club sponsored by the combined Masonic Lodges of Louisville. This brought many men in uniform to the meetings of all Lodges including Number Eight. One notable difference of the second World War over the first was the almost equal representation of the Navy blue seen among the uniforms. As during the first war Abraham Lodge received a great many petitions and the membership grew rapidly. The Master Mason Degree By Abraham Lodge Not much is known how the members of a Lodge a hundred or a hundred and fifty years ago conferred the three degrees of Masonry. Apparently nearly the whole of the work was done by the three top officers of the Lodge. The degree assemblies now almost universal among Lodges were unknown. The reason for this is not hard to understand. The work was there but there were none to do it. It stemmed from the fact that the Craft preferred small lodge memberships. Added to this was the constant shifting and removal of the members with the subsequent demand for demits. It is small wonder that these officers had to carry most of the degree work. A lodge that had grown to the huge total of fifty or sixty members was considered large enough and nearly always a second Lodge was soon at work to lighten the pressure. When memberships began climbing into the hundreds the degree teams became possible and the full beauty of the work took on reality. Even today in some communities we find Lodges co-operating to form a single degree team among them to serve when the Master Mason degree is to be conferred. The plan has been very successful in Kentucky. Abraham Lodge during the past fifty years has devoted great effort to improving its degree work. Much of it was centered upon the conference of the Master Mason degree. In 1920 the work of amplifying the sublime degree to a fuller extent of the story was undertaken with startling results. Fortunate in possessing among its members some professional as well as amateur actors the drama of the Temple was built into its present lengthy portrayal. The results won the admiration not only of the members of Number Eight but of other Lodges as well. Recognition of the work followed quickly. In October, 1922, the degree was conferred for Clarke Lodge of Jeffersonville, In. In November of the same year Number Eight journeyed to Middletown, Ky., to confer the degree for Middletown Lodge No. 732. In August, 1923, a visit was made to Kilwinning Lodge and several candidates raised by Abraham’s team. During the Grand Lodge session of 1923 the Lodge was picked to confer the Master Mason degree in the huge drill room of De Molay Hall. There was an audience of eight hundred Masons packed into the room. In this year Number Eight also conferred the degrees for Lewis Lodge with another huge audience that filled the lodge hall in Portland. What was perhaps the greatest honor ever bestowed on a degree team in Louisville fell to Abraham Lodge in its selection to confer the Master Mason degree at the monster meeting of the Craft called by the then Grand Master G. Allison Holland in May, 1926. The meeting was held in Kosair Temple then at Floyd and Broadway and there were more than a thousand of the Craft present. After these presentations of the Degree, sister Lodges began asking assistance in adopting their work. The officers of Abraham Lodge announced full cooperation and through the help of the Grand Secretary Brother Fred W. Hardwick, the project was set under way. At first the calls came from Lodges out in the state. The burden of answering these was thrown entirely on the shoulders of Brother Hardwick who took over the task without complaint. Lodges in Louisville followed suit. Shawnee Lodge was the first in the city to take up the work and the members and officers of that Lodge did it with much enthusiasm and many thanks to Number Eight. From Shawnee Lodge the work spread rapidly and today most of the degree teams of the city are using it. Later the work was officially adopted by the Grand Lodge of Kentucky. That was something to be written in Abraham’s book. The State of the Membership and Lodge Finances Entering its one hundred and sixtieth year Abraham Lodge has a total membership well over five hundred. For its one hundredth year there were one hundred and ninety on the roster while the figures of the one hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary total four hundred and seventy-nine members. Adding it all up it appears to be a disappointingly slow growth for a live and active organization. During the past fifty years the Lodge has had some very good years while it has also suffered some that were exceedingly lean. In 1926 with the membership nearing the five hundred mark it was written that the lean years were forever behind the old lodge. Then the hurricane struck. During the years of the great depression beginning in late 1929 the Lodge took on some grievous losses. At one time more than half the membership was in arrears with its dues. A large number of these members took the easiest way and allowed themselves to be suspended from the Lodge. Most of these have not returned. Petitions dropped to zero and degree work came almost to a dead halt. Calls for assistance was heavy. A monthly newspaper printed by the Lodge was abandoned to save the money needed elsewhere. Lodge income and the invested fund also took a beating. From a high of nearly twenty-six thousand dollars the investments dropped in value to less than eighteen thousand. Some of the securities held by the Lodge became worthless overnight. The losses were great but the recovery was greater. There are now more than five hundred members to greet the Sesqui-Centennial. Through good work by the trustees in charge of the invested fund the Lodge now owns securities valued close to thirty-five thousand dollars. Petitions come in fairly well and Number Eight continues busy in conferring degrees. Abraham has never been a fast growing Lodge and most likely it will never be able to match the strides of some of its sisters. There are nearly thirty Lodges at work in Jefferson County and under the circumstances old Mother Eight appears to be doing quite well. Keeping a Roof Over Mother Eight’s Head When the Lodge building at the corner of the present 5th and Liberty streets was sold Number Eight moved its meeting-place to a hall in the upper floor of the Jacobs building located on the southeast corner of Third and Market streets. Here the Lodge held its meetings for eight years. In 1850 the Masonic bodies of Louisville formed a company for the purpose of erecting a Temple. The venture was successful and in 1857 the building was completed and occupied. Abraham Lodge being among the tenants. The Temple was located on the West side of Fourth street, the building occupying the entire block between Jefferson and Liberty streets. It was of four stories in height, a tall and handsome structure. The street floor was made up of retail shops. The second floor contained a playhouse named the Masonic Theatre. Entrance to the theatre was up a flight of stairs on the Jefferson street side. A second floor theatre would be an oddity now but they were quite common in the late half of the eighteen-hundreds and Louisville atone time possessed two of them. The stage entrance was on the Liberty street side. The Lodge rooms occupied the third and fourth floors of the building. Entrance to the meeting-rooms was also on the Liberty (then Green) street side. There were no elevators in the building and the brethren attending Lodge had a long weary climb up the wooden stairs to the Lodge room. Abraham Lodge held its meetings in the Temple for forty-six years. Often on meeting nights the janitor or the custodian of the keys to the entrance failed to show up and there was no meeting except a useless one on the sidewalk. When this occurred on a cold winter night entries in the minutes announce that the brethren went home in ill-humor. This was probably an understatement. On one occasion at a regular meeting of the Lodge when the officers arrived to open up they found the meeting-hall in use by a sister Lodge holding a called meeting. There was also no meeting of Number Eight that night. The building when erected carried fond hopes that it would be a profitable venture for its owners. Stock in the company was held by the Lodges and some individuals. The profits never materialized and at no time were there a dividend paid. The Lodges however could hardly complain. They got a good meeting place at a fair rent and their stock cost them practically nothing. Abraham Lodge at one time had eight thousand dollars worth of shares. This was paid for through a curious process. For a number of years it was the practice to get the Grand Lodge to suspend the payment of dues by the subordinates in Louisville in order that these Lodges could use the money thus saved to purchase stock in their Temple. In 1858 the Grand Lodge of Kentucky moved its office and meeting place from Lexington to Louisville and took up its abode in the newly built Temple. The theatre made an ideal place for the Grand Lodge annual session. The Grand Lodge also began buying up the stock of the corporation and eventually owned ninety-eight per cent of it. In 1900 the Temple was hit by a disastrous fire. The building was of course a first class fire trap. Fortunately the blaze started in the early morning hours when the theatre was empty. Most of the shops on the first floor with the playhouse on the second were put out of business. The Lodge rooms however were untouched and the dozen or more Masonic bodies meeting there were able to continue doing so until another Temple was built. Following the fire the Grand Lodge sold the property and promptly started the erection of another building. A site was bought on Chestnut street between Third and Fourth streets. The building was completed and occupied in 1903. Again Mother Eight packed up her belongings and moved to the new home. Like the Temple at 4th and Jefferson streets the new building contained a theatre. Likewise it bore the name Masonic. The meeting rooms were on the upper floors and consisted of a blue room, a red room and a commandery room. In addition there were kitchens and banquet halls. Here the Craft assembled in comparative luxury. Thick carpets covered the floors and the chairs were comfortable. In the blue room there were winding stairs and a small balcony. Some years after the Temple was built the Grand Lodge conveyed the property to the Masonic Widows and Orphans’ Home. Later the trustees of the institution sold the property to New York theatrical interests. The name Masonic Temple came down and a new one, the Shubert Building, went up. The theatre became known as the Strand. The large number of Masonic bodies meeting at the place continued to do so until 1935. This was one of the depression years. The owners of the building faced with some major and costly repairs to the elevators elected to close off the upper floors instead its Lodges were ordered to get out at once. There was of course a scramble to get a meeting-place. Abraham Lodge found one in the huge commandery room at De Molay Hall. The Lodge met in this place from 1935 until the summer of June, 1947. On a rising real-estate market the Commandery deemed it a good time to sell the building. From De Molay Hall Mother Eight moved to Shawnee Temple. The meetings were held in this place until October, 1950, when again the Lodge found it necessary to call in the moving van. This time the new home was Boaz Hall at Shelby and Mulberry streets. The residence here lasted little more than a year. In 1951 the Lodge returned to Shawnee Temple where at this writing it is now holding its meetings. Abraham Lodge has on a number of occasions taken up the matter of building a home of its home. At present there is a building committee at work. In 1920 the Lodge assumed the thankless task of getting some of the Lodges in the city to pool their resources and unite in building a Temple. Under the direction of the late Capt. Chas. F. Huhlein as chairman several meetings were called with many of the Masonic bodies in the city represented. The efforts however resulted in flat failure. Most of the organizations preferred to build on their own. Five of them did and four out of the lot went down in bankruptcy. Following the late war the Lodge undaunted appointed another committee to try again to unite the Lodges. Brother Past Master R. H. Lehnhardt was made chairman and he succeeded in calling several meetings in the Grand Secretary’s office with a fair number of the Lodges represented. The results however closely followed the pattern as before and Number Eight temporarily abandoned the project. In the opinion of most members of the Lodge, Number Eight is hardly large enough in membership or resources to erect or maintain a building solely on its own. Neither are a great many of its sister lodges. Together four or five could well pay for and support a modest building suitable for their needs. Number Eight hopes to effect such an organization soon. The End Additional Notes Covering Period 1951 to December 21, 1961 On October 1, 1951, the Lodge voted to return to Shawnee Temple, 40th and Broadway, Louisville, Ky. The move was made and meetings were continued there until 1959 at which time the Lodge voted "to move to the New Boaz Hall, 4717 Preston Highway and to change its meeting nights from the first and third Wednesdays to the second and fourth Fridays. The first meeting was held in the new hall on Friday, July 10, 1959. At a regular stated meeting held on February 24, 1961, a motion was made, duly seconded and passed "That the old building committee be discharged and that a new committee of five brethren be appointed to hold office until the next regular election of officers. That the new committee be empowered to inspect various parcels of real estate either improved or unimproved that would be suitable for the location of a lodge hall and if such property could be located to take an option if the Trustees in their opinion considered the real estate suitable both as to location and value. If the conditions above met with their approval they were empowered to appropriate up to $1,000.00 to purchase said option." On April 14, 1961, Brother V. H. Kelley, P.M., advised the Lodge that his committee had located a parcel of real estate at 1012 South Fifth Street, which he, his committee and the Trustees deemed suitable and desirable for our needs. The membership was notified and at a meeting held on May 12, 1961, the Lodge, after hearing experts in the field of real estate, an engineer and others, voted to approve the purchase of the property and directed the Trustees to so do. At present the property is under lease and bringing excellent rental. The lease has a couple of years to run but we feel that very definite steps have been taken and that we may, in the not too distant future, realize our long-cherished dream, a home for Old Mother Eight. Additional Notes Covering Period 1961 to April 1, 1976 During the years from 1961 to February 12, 1976 the Lodge met in the Scottish Rite Temple and Parkland Temple. Then on February 12, 1976 a dream of many decades came true. We met for the first time in our new Lodge hall at 8005 LaGrange Road. Over one hundred Brethren attended on this night to see a Brother receive his first or Entered Apprentice Degree. Plans for owning our Temple had been discussed for so many years that many of the Brethren had become weary and lost hope. The Temple proves a teaching of the Fraternity; no honest effort is ever lost. It is our prayer that this Temple will serve the Masonic Fraternity until the 300th Anniversary of our Lodge.
April 1, 1976 to October 2001
During the years 1976 to 1992, The Lodge saw many people raised to the Degree of Master Mason. It also saw the passing of many of the members who had erected the Temple on LaGrange road. In the 1970’s into the 1980’s, Abraham had a noted Degree Team and performed the Work of Masonry for many Lodges around the area. The Lodge went through a Masonic Trial in 1982, with acquittal being the verdict. The Trial created a lot of ill feelings and loss of membership. Financial hardship befell the Lodge. After much argument, heated debate, and many meetings, it was with great pain that the members voted to sell the building. It was on the real estate market for over a year, when a cash offer was received if possession could be had immediately. We begged for a week’s time and received it. The Lodge Hall on LaGrange RD was sold in January 1993. We moved quickly and established a meeting space in rented quarters at The Louisville Demolay Commandry Building, 1410 Gardiner Lane, Louisville Ky. Our financial well being was established with the influx of funds from the sale. Because of this status, we have been able to give to Masonic Charities and local organizations. We need the support and Brotherly Love of our members to go forward. We hope the spirit from 200 years ago will remain and nourish our members in Masonic Light and Guidance.
DJM
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