The Grand Lodge of Michigan of Free and Accepted Masons, commonly known as Grand Lodge of Michigan, in tandem with the Most Worshipful

Prince Hall Prince Hall (1807) was an American abolitionist and leader in the free black community in Boston. He founded Prince Hall Freemasonry and lobbied for education rights for African American children. He was also active in the back-to-Africa moveme ...

Grand Lodge of Michigan govern the practice of regular

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

in the state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

History

It is uncertain when Freemasonry came to the Great Lakes area, though it is known that it was first brought to the area by the French at a time when it was

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

. The earliest documented Lodge west of the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

was warranted in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

on April 27, 1764, by George Harison, Provincial Grand Master of the Provincial

Grand Lodge of New York The Grand Lodge of New York (officially, the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York) is the largest and oldest independent organization of Freemasons in the U.S. state of New York. It was at one time the largest grand ...

, with Lt. John Christie of the 2nd Battalion, 60th Royal American Foot Regiment as

Worshipful Master In Craft Freemasonry, sometimes known as Blue Lodge Freemasonry, every Masonic lodge elects or appoints Masonic lodge officers to execute the necessary functions of the lodge's life and work. The precise list of such offices may vary between the j ...

. By 1772, there were at least three Lodges functioning at Detroit: Lodge No. 1 and two Irish Military Lodges, Nos. 299 and 378, warranted to Masons of the 10th Regiment, then stationed at Detroit. The next three Lodges warranted for work in Michigan were also started by members of the visiting military. These were Harmony Lodge in Detroit, St. Johns Lodge No. 15 on the island of Mackinac and Zion Lodge No. 10 (now No. 1) warranted in 1794 for work in Detroit. In September 1817 Zion Lodge provided much needed support for the newly created

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. The idea first took shape in the minds of

Augustus Woodward Augustus Brevoort Woodward (born Elias Brevoort Woodward; November 1774 – June 12, 1827) was the first Chief Justice of the Michigan Territory. In that position, he played a prominent role in the reconstruction of Detroit following a d ...

, a Mason and the first Judge of the Territorial Supreme Court; the Reverend John Monteith, a Presbyterian clergyman and Father

Gabriel Richard Gabriel Richard (pronounced rish-ARD) October 15, 1767 – September 13, 1832, was a French Roman Catholic priest who ministered to the French Catholics in the parish of Sainte Anne de Détroit, as well as Protestants and Native Americans liv ...

, a Roman Catholic Priest. On September 15, Zion Lodge met and subscribed the sum of $250 in aid of the University of Michigan, payable in the sum of $50 per year. Of the total amount subscribed to start the University two-thirds came from Zion Lodge and its members. The members of Zion Lodge sponsored and supported additional Lodges in Upper Canada and Michigan including Detroit Lodge No. 337 (now No. 2), Oakland Lodge No. 343 in

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality **Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

, Menomenie Lodge No. 374 in Green Bay (then a part of the Territory) and Monroe Lodge No. 375 in Monroe. These five Lodges laid plans for a Grand Lodge in the Territory to handle the growing plans for Masonry in the area, and in June 1826 a Grand Lodge for the Territory of Michigan was established in Detroit. There are 274 Lodges in the State of Michigan at the present time.https://www.grandlodgemi.org/lodges/lodges-in-districts/

List of Grand Masters

List of past and current Grand Masters of the Grand Lodge of Michigan

References

External links

Michigan Masons
(official site)
Michigan Child ID ProgramMasonic Pathways Senior Living Services
{{coord, 43.389892, N, 84.666753, W, display=title Freemasonry in the United States Organizations based in Michigan 1826 establishments in Michigan Territory

History

List of Grand Masters

See also

References

External links