Masonry Dates to 10th Century B.C.

The fraternity of Ancient Free Masons is the oldest, largest and most widely known fraternal organization in the world. Volumes have been written about it. Yet, to many, Freemasonry remains a mystery, here are some facts on the organization that can be informative to all.

Some historians trace Freemasonry to the Tenth Century, B.C., during the building of King Solomon's Temple. Records reveal that Freemasonry was introduced into England in 674 A.D..

Freemasonry is directly descended from associations of opertive masons, the cathedral builders of the Middles Ages, who traveled through Europe employing the secrets and skills of their crafts.

In the 17th Century, when cathedral building was on the decline, many guilds of stonemasters, known as "Opertive Masons" or "FreeMasons," started to accept as members those who were not memebers of the masons' craft, calling them "Speculative Mason" or "Accepted Masons."

It was from the groups, comprised mostly of "Adopted or Accepted Masons," that Symbolic Masonry or Freemasonry, as we know it today, had its beginning.

In 1717, four Lodges of Freemasons meeting in London, England, formed the first Grand Lodge. This first Grand Lodge chartered Suymbolic Lodges and Provincial Grand Lodges in many countries, including the American Colonies.

Today, there are more than 150 Grand Lodges in free countries of the world with a membership of more than 6,000,000. The Grand Lodge is the administrative authority in its territory, known as a Jurisdiction.

The basic unit of all Grand Lodges is the Symbolic Lodge, or "BlueLodge," as it is commonly known. It is the Symbolic Lodge that issues petitions for memberships, acts on petitions and confers the three SymbolicDegrees, know as the Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master MasonsDegrees.

Revised/Annotated by JHyatt, July, 1998