My Visit to T.S. Webb #43

Last Night I had the privilege to visit Thomas Smith Webb #43, which meets in the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Cranston, RI for their visitation for the Most Worshipful Grand Master Richard Ault. Thomas Smith Webb was Grand Master of Rhode Island in 1813-1814 and is most known for authoring The Freemasons Monitor and his contributions to the York Rite.

The building itself is very impressive, there is the Scottish Site Cathedral on one side of the street and a Shriners Center opposite where the brothers retired afterwards for a drink and fraternal bonding.


The foyer to the lodge is filled with artifacts and memorabilia and really brings the history of the lodge to light. Photos, gavels, aprons, pins and much more, you will find items two hundred years old next to items from the last decade.


In fact there is a museum in the building with some of the best Masonic items in the state and is a much see if you visit the lodge. Below is a case of older gavels that really takes ones breathe away.


Because it is used for Scottish Rite, the lodge is laid out differently then other lodges I have visited. All the seats are in the North and are stadium style which gives it a much different feel from the smaller lodges I have been in.


The visit had a great turnout and it was something to see a lot of those seats filled with brothers, I can only imagine how it would have been fifty years ago when every seat was filled.



Additional links:
Thomas Smith Webb Wikipedia article
Scottish Rite - Valley of Providence
Webbs Masonic Monitor

My Visit to Morning Star Lodge

Last night I had the privilege to visit Morning Star Lodge in Woonsocket, RI and the kick off to their 200th anniversary celebration. The lodge is in the heart of Woonsocket between a number of one way streets and we wound up parking a few streets over and walking to the lodge rather then trying to find a closer spot. The lodge was granted its dispensation on January 22, 1810 so our visit was almost exactly 200 years later which was rather neat.


The first floor of the lodge is the dining hall, the second is comprised of meeting areas, a small library and a small lodge meeting room for the local Eastern Star chapter while the third floor holds the main meeting lodge.


The first impression we all received when we walked into the room was "wow". The room is large and full of interesting decor and artifacts. Note the three lights around the alter, actual candles which is the first time I have seen non-bulb lights in a lodge in Rhode Island. It looked like they were working on some sections of the ceiling in the main lodge room, as well as the rec rooms on the second floor, but it was one of the nicer lodges I have visited.


The lodge has a great history of members, among them is Past Master Sullivan Ballou who would gain fame during the Civil War.

Ballou and 93 of his men were mortally wounded at Bull Run. In an attempt to better direct his men, Ballou took a horse mounted position in front of his regiment, when a 6-pounder solid shot from Confederate artillery tore off his right leg and simultaneously killed his horse. The badly injured Major was then carried off the field and the remainder of his leg was amputated. Ballou died from his wound a week after that Union defeat and was buried in the yard of nearby Sudley Church. After the battle the territory was occupied by Confederate forces. According to witness testimony, it was at this time that Ballou's corpse was exhumed, decapitated, and desecrated by Confederate soldiers possibly belonging to the 21st Georgia regiment. Ballou's body was never recovered.

If that was all to it, he probably would have faded into history but when going through his belongings an unmailed letter to his wife was discovered and delivered to her. This letter would gain fame for its heartfeltness and honesty and was featured prominently in Ken Burns wonderful PBS series The Civil War in the first episode. Two points of interest regarding PM Ballou; his fathers first name was Hiram and his grave site is located in Providence. Hopefully I will be able to do a tour of Masonic tombstones/graves in Rhode Island this summer and post some imagery.


Wikipedia article about Sullivan Ballou
Swan Point Cemetery
The Civil War - PBS

Visitation tonight: Franklin Lodge #20

Tonight I will be visiting the furthest lodge from my home, Franklin Lodge #20 in Westerly RI for their annual communication. Keeping in mind how small Rhode Island is and the fact that I live in Warwick which is in the middle of the state, it will still take me 45 minutes to drive there.

A little information about the lodge from the RIMasons,org web site:

Their dispensation was granted December 30, 1856 and their charter was granted five months later on May 25, 1877. Their stated communtication is the second Tuesday in each month (except July and August) and their annual communication is the Saturday nearest to January 17 in each year.

I plan on taking some photos while I am there and will post them along with my thoughts on the visit soon!