Trying to establish the exact birth date of Masonry in Florida is much like trying to establish the exact birth date of Masonry in general, as many of the old historical facts were either not properly recorded, or the records were either destroyed or lost. And even the ones which survived were for many years hidden from the world, lying dormant in unmarked and forgotten files. But, fortunately in 1898, the first authoritative record of early Masonry in Florida came to light in the form of a rare and very old copy of “Preston’s Illustration.” It had been presented to the Grand Lodge of Florida by Dr. F.F. Bond of Thorncliff, Brighouse, England. On the title page of this prized gift the following words were inscribed, “The gift of James Murray to Saint Andrews Lodge No. 1, West Florida on June 27, 1776.” This was the first reliable information that a Masonic Lodge had existed in Florida at such an early date.
       In 1898, Deputy Grand Master Silas B. Wright was assigned the duty to further investigate the possibility of any other existing records of early Florida Masonry. He discovered there were indeed further records being held by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania which proved the existence of Masonry in Florida during the early years of our country. These records, some covering the periods of 1768 through 1785, were graciously made available to the Grand Lodge of Florida for research and appropriate copying. A special report by Right Worshipful Wright was included in the 1899 Grand Lodge Proceedings and many of these records are now in the archives of our Grand Lodge. These records indicated that on March 15, 1768, a Charter was issued by the Grand Lodge of Scotland to “Grant’s East Florida Lodge No. 143” to be located in Saint Augustine, in the Territory of Florida. And although it is almost certain that Masonry had existed in some form prior to this date; this is the first documented Masonic Lodge that was established in what is now the State of Florida. On that same date, the “Provincial Grand Lodge over Lodges in the Southern District of North America” was created and was also to be located in Saint Augustine. The Honorable James Grant, who was presently the Governor of the Territory of Florida, was named the Provincial Grand Master. This Grand Body functioned until 1783, when it was suppressed by the Dominican Priesthood and the Spanish Government, and all the records were either destroyed or carried away.
       All the available information was later located either in the archives of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania or the Grand Lodge of Scotland. The fate of Grant’s East Florida Lodge is not actually known but it is assumed that it was suppressed at the same time as the Provincial Grand Lodge. The records held by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania provided a much clearer picture of the operations and fate of Florida’s second Lodge, Saint Andrew’s Lodge No. 1 of Pensacola, which was chartered on May 3, 1771. Ten years later, Pensacola and the Territory of West Florida were returned to the control of Spain and the Masonic Fraternity was again suppressed by the Dominican Priesthood and the Spanish Government. The local Masons were forced to flee for their lives. However, in spite of the great danger, the Brothers did not leave the area until they had rescued their Lodge Charter and all the records, which included Minutes of every meeting held since their Charter had been issued. They finally reached safety in Charleston, South Carolina, and reports
were sent back to the Provincial Grand Lodge at Saint Augustine detailing their plight. In 1772, they were granted Dispensation to work in South Carolina while under the Charter from the Territory of Florida. But when the Provincial Grand Lodge was suppressed in 1783, Saint Andrews Lodge No. 1 was without authority to function. The Grand Lodge of Philadelphia came to their assistance and re-Chartered the Lodge, but the name was changed to Saint Andrews Lodge No. 40, continued to work until it surrendered its Charter in 1817, and together with four other Lodges formed the Grand Lodge of South Carolina. Lodge No. 40 then assumed the name of Saint Andrews Lodge No. 10 and continued to work until 1881 when its Charter was surrendered. It is interesting to note that Albert G. Mackey, who is very prominent in the records of Freemasonry, was Initiated, Passed, and Raised in Saint Andrews Lodge No. 10 in 1841.
       Saint Augustine seemed to be the hotbed of Masonry in the Territory and the Grand Lodge of England issued a Warrant to Lodge No. 58B, again to be located in that city, but unfortunately, in an only short while it became a dormant Lodge. However, on March 20, 1776, the Warrant to Lodge No. 58 was renewed. On January 3, 1778, the Grand Lodge of England also granted a Warrant to Lodge No. 204 in Saint Augustine but the Warrant was later ordered returned due to the necessary fees not being paid.
       The Grand Lodge of South Carolina provided much assistance to the Masons of Florida and issued a Warrant to Lodge No. 30, again in Saint Augustine and to Lodge No. 56 in Pensacola. Both Lodges were short lived as the Spanish Government suppressed all Masonic activities throughout its domain. In 1806, St. Fernando Lodge was Chartered by the Grand Lodge of Georgia to meet in Saint Augustine, but as was the case in so many times before, the Lodge was suppressed by the Spanish Government in 1811. In 1820, Floridian Virtues Lodge No. 28 was Chartered by the Grand Lodge of South Carolina but like many of its predecessors, it could not survive the politics of the day. It was the dream of the Masons in Florida, however, to be part of a regular Lodge and operate under the authority of a recognized Grand Lodge. This dream was fulfilled and Masonry came to Florida on a permanent basis on December 19, 1825, when the Grand Lodge of Alabama issued a Warrant to Jackson Lodge No. 23 to be located in Tallahassee in the Territory of Florida. A year later, the Grand Lodge of Georgia issued a warrant to Washington Lodge No. 1 to be located in Quincy and on December 8, 1829, they also issued a Warrant to Harmony Lodge No. 2 in Marianna. At this time the political pressures had diminished and these three Lodges, which were the only three surviving Lodges in the Territory, operated under their respective Grand Lodges until 1830.
       In July 1830, they came together at a called conference and the Grand Lodge of the Territory of Florida was born. One of the first orders of business was to renumber these three Lodges and identify them as Jackson Lodge No. 1, Washington Lodge No. 2, and Harmony Lodge No. 3. The convention to form this new Grand Lodge was chaired by Worshipful John Pope Duval, who was the most senior Past Master present. He was later elected as our first Grand Master and served our Grand Lodge for two years, 1830 and 1831. But, during the early years, our Grand Lodge was a Gypsy type Grand Lodge, inasmuch as it did not own any property and had no permanent home. For the first forty years, the early Grand Communications were held in Tallahassee, but in 1870, the Grand Lodge of Florida was officially transferred to the city of Jacksonville, where it remains today. During that span of time in Jacksonville, our Grand Lodge has owned and
occupied three different Grand Lodge Buildings.