Some Of The History of ​Columbian Lodge #484

By:  W∴ Leo Roth Klein

When I recently started looking into the background and history of Columbian Lodge and found, to my surprise, it was both more complicated and interesting than I ever suspected.  My beginning point was the knowledge we began as Columbian Lodge #15 of the St. Johns Grand Lodge.  It was only a beginning.

The first thing I found was there were two St. Johns Grand Lodges.  We are the product of the second or “Revived” version.  This raised two questions: why was there a first or “Original” and why was there a second?  In 1860 we were part of the second of two schismatic Grand Lodges merged so why were we the junior of the two?  Why were also called the “Atwood Grand Lodge” and why is that significant?  Along the way I ran into a mention of the “City Grand Lodge” and the “Country Grand Lodge” which preceded the Original St. Johns Grand Lodge.

There has almost always been conflict between the New York City metropolitan area and “upstate” New York.  Masonic history is no different.  About 1810 a major dispute arose.  GM Joseph Enos appointed a committee to revise the Grand Lodge Constitution and the Rules and regulation. Of its nine members only two were from the city.  The city lodges then recognized Senior Grand Warden Richard Hatfield as Acting Grand Master.  The Enos Grand Lodge established its Grand East in Albany and the Hatfield Grand Lodge established its Grand East in New York City.  After the decimation of their respective roll of lodges caused by the Morgan Affair, the two grand lodges merged in 1825 with the Grand East in New York City, where it has been ever since.

The beginning of my search was the 75th Anniversary History of Columbian 484 published in 1935.  It identified a few of the Lodges in the Revived St. Johns but not all of them.  It neglected to mention it was the “Revived” and did not reference the “Original. Since I subscribe to the Atholl1792 web site, I found a posting by Liberty Lodge #196 referencing the St. Johns Grand Lodge. I rapidly learned that Liberty is a product of the “Original” and there also was no full listing of all those Lodges.

The “Original” St. Johns Grand Lodge was erected because of a dispute about a public procession in 1837.  The infamous “Morgan Affair” in 1824 almost destroyed our Grand Lodge.  It went from over 500 lodges in 1820 to 35 Lodges in 1835 many of whom were virtually inactive. Grand Lodge opposed the parade and forbade it.  Three Lodges, York #367, Silentia #198 and Benevolent #142, decided to parade anyhow and were heavily censured by Grand Lodge. Therefore they erected the “St. Johns Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York” and the schism began.  Ultimately they grew to almost 30 Lodges.  Two of the leading lights in it were Robert Macoy and the other was Henry C. Atwood.  Macoy created the Macoy Publishing Company which for many years was the most prominent Masonic publishing house.  Atwood was an extremely active mason and part of the group promoting what were called the “Lectures” developed by Jerremy Cross and Thomas Smith Webb in the United Grand Lodge of England.  The exemplification of these lectures almost caused a schism in New York and probably other jurisdictions.  By 1850 a lot of the turmoil over processions died down and the “Original” failed to grow significantly.  The Grand Lodge of New York revoked its censure and expulsions of 1837 and the “Original” was merged into it.  This was good and Grand Master John Dwight Willard is to be congratulated.

All was not well because in 1849 Deputy Grand Master Isaac Phillips broke with the Grand Lodge over Grand Lodge voting and erected another Grand Lodge which was also called the Grand Lodge of New York and is referred to as the Phillips Grand Lodge.  It had been the custom for all Past Masters to be voting members of Grand Lodge.  The revival of masonry after the Morgan Affair made that unwieldy.  Grand Lodge voted that only a sitting Master could vote.  This was the cause of the latest schism.  The senior Grand Lodge was referred to as the Willard Grand Lodge.  The Phillips Grand Lodge gathered significant support among the constituent lodges and included, among others, Independent Royal Arch #2.  However, it never became as strong as the Willard Grand Lodge.

Meanwhile another conflict arose.  Chancellor Ruben A. Wadsworth was proposed as Grand Master.  Henry Atwood, and many others, felt this was inappropriate due to his activities during the Morgan Affair.  Therefore, in 1853 Atwood revived the St. Johns Grand Lodge only three years after it had closed its doors.  By 1859 it was recognized that for New York to have three competing Grand Lodges was intolerable.  It was agreed the surviving Grand Lodge would be the Willard which had 411 lodges. The Phillips Grand Lodge which had 28 lodges was merged into it.  The revived Atwood Grand Lodge, which had been considered clandestine, was dissolved and the 16 lodges it had chartered, plus one Under Dispensation, were “heled” into the now combined Willard.  It is interesting to note the Willard’s 441 plus the Phillips’ 28 equals 469. Since Columbian was #15 on the roster of the revived St. Johns Grand Lodge, 469 plus 15 yields 484, our present Lodge number.  We are one of the few lodges to use that arithmetic.  After a great deal of research, and a lot of both confusion and various misstatements, I have what I believe to be the accurate roll of the Revived St. Johns Grand Lodges.  It is also interesting to note how many of the constituents of the Revived St. Johns Grand Lodge ended up in the Fourth Manhattan District.

The charter of Columbian #15 has resided in the archives of the Grand Lodge of New York since 1860.  It was last displayed in Columbian #484 on 1 November 1968 for the occasion of the visit by Columbian (no number) Lodge of Boston Mass.  That Columbian was chartered in 1795 by MW Paul Revere, Grand Master.  Enjoy our curious history.