The Early Years

On March 17, 1815, a group of 21 Freemasons, having recently settled in the Town of Pomfret, met at the home of Jacob Houghton on the South-East corner of Summer and Main Streets in the hamlet of Canadaway.  The purpose was to petition the Grand Lodge of NY to charter a Lodge here locally, under the name of Forest Lodge.  The Lodge would plan to hold their meetings in the home of Brother Houghton.  The Lodge would be so named due to the prevalent landscape, which was heavy dense forest at the time.  The closest Lodge at that time was Western Star Lodge #239, 45 miles away in Buffalo.  It is a distance that can be made in short time today, but in the early 1800s it was wrought with problems of poor-to-nonexistent roads, having to traverse both Cattaraugus and 18 mile creeks, and dangers posed by the travel through the Seneca Reservation.  All of this treacherous travel was made on horseback, or with wagons, and taking most of a day’s journey on a good day. 

The petition was approved, and a Charter for Forest Lodge #263 was issued by Grand Lodge, dated June 11, 1816, signed by the Hon. DeWitt Clinton Esq., Grand Master of Masons of the state of NY.  Clinton was also a past NYS Assemblyman, and NYS Senator, a US Senator from NY, President of the Erie Canal Commission, and would soon thereafter be Governor of NY. 

The first officers of Forest Lodge that were installed on July 24, 1816, by the Worshipful Master of Leroy Lodge, Dr. Phineas Stephens.  The officers installed were; Ebenezer Johnson-Worshipful Master, Samuel Sinclair-Senior Warden, Jonathan Sprague-Junior Warden, Eliphalet Dewey-Treasurer, Seth Snow-Secretary, and Daniel Barnes-Tyler.  The installation of officers was held in the home of Brother Houghton, and meetings were set to be held at the home of Brother Dewey, until time that a more suitable location could be had.  Over the next few years, Forest Lodge recommended the petitions for charters of at least 6 other Lodges in Chautauqua County, and one in Angola. Much of its membership moved on to build these other Lodges, most notably Samuel Sinclair, who became the first Master of Sylvan Lodge in the Village to be named after him, Sinclairville.   In 1820 it was decided that the best bet to maintain continuity of the Lodge would be to establish a permanent Lodge room of their own.  A committee was established, and a Lodge room was built above the properties in the area of 9-11 East Main St, for the sum of $166.61.  The main feature of the building contract, was that the Lodge agreed to keep a roof on the building, in order to maintain its title. 

The Anti-Masonic Turmoil

An Anti-Masonic movement started in 1826 after the disappearance of a Mr William Morgan from Batavia.  Morgan was a disgruntled Mason who had published a book containing secret Masonic ritual, and a group of Masons were accused in the disappearance.   The movement spread throughout New York State and beyond, affecting the social and political lives of everyone.  From churches, to presidential races, the movement spread a mass hysteria like wildfire, as much as bad news tends to do.  As with conspiracies even today, the movement attempted to condemn an entire group of people based on the alleged actions of a handful.  Due to the negativity that was so widespread, almost all of the Lodges in the state surrendered their charters.  Forest Lodge was the only one in the Chautauqua District to survive the movement intact.  In 1832 the Lodge ceased to have officially recorded meetings, but records  show that the members continued to maintain their Lodge room, hold occasional unrecorded meetings, and maintain the roof on the building as per their agreement.  Leverett Barker, father of Darwin R Barker, was the 2nd Master of Forest Lodge #263 in 1818, and the final Master of the Lodge under that number, in 1832. 

The Rebuilding Years, a New Charter, a New Lodge Room

Though Forest Lodge did not surrender their charter in 1832, the location thereof became a mystery, most likely having been put in a safe place by a member who had passed on.  In the Spring of 1850, the members decided it was time to again hold a public presence, so a new Charter had to be applied for in order to hold official meetings.   A new Charter was issued by Grand Lodge with the number #166, and under the leadership of Suel Dickenson, began to flourish again.  The original Charter was found in 1889, and is still in possession of the Lodge today.   In 1907, a group of Past Masters of the Lodge, led by A. Wilson Dods, dug into much historical background and legal papers, to confirm for the official record that Forest Lodge had in fact maintained continuous activity since its inception in 1816. This designation finally being approved in 1915, the new charter from 1850 was sent to Grand Lodge to have an official inscription reading “This charter is granted to Forest Lodge No.166, in continuation of the charter granted to Forest Lodge, No.263, of June 11th, 1816.  This made way for the Lodge to celebrate a 100th anniversary in 1916

In 1851 the Lodge decided to sell their Lodge room, and take use of the Odd Fellows Hall on the Wollenben Block of West Main St.  There they stayed until 1878, when they purchased “Concert Hall”, in the upper floor of the Centner Block of Fredonia, at 14-16 West Main St.  This already grand structure was remodeled into a beautifully designed Lodge room, with magnificent pillars and archways and scrollwork.  The Lodge had almost 100 good years here, where they remained until the big fire on February 28 1973, originating in the kitchen of the Village Squire restaurant at 22 West Main st.  The flames jumped to the 4th floor roof of the Lodge room, eventually destroying the Lodge and contents.  Though many records and artifacts were lost, two firefighters who were members of the Lodge, bravely raced into the Lodge and safely recovered both the original and 1850 charters. 

Another Move

Following the fire in 1973, the Lodge took use of the beautiful old Lodge room owned by Dunkirk/Irondequoit Lodge on Central Ave in Dunkirk.  Over the next couple of years the members of Forest Lodge located a site on East Main St in Fredonia, on which they could build a new Lodge facility.  The new Lodge would be located at the present location of 321 E Main St, and was completed and dedicated in July of 1976.  Since then, the Lodge has had 20 different Masters, the seat being currently held by Richard Newton, a 4th generation member of the fraternity.  Over the past few years, the Lodge has undergone some building upgrades, to help attract groups using the facility, which help cover costs of maintaining the property and keeping up with the taxes. 

Brief Fraternal History

Freemasonry has its earliest documented record going back to the Regis Manuscript, written in England in 1390.  At the time, all Freemasons were operative masons, meaning they were engaged in the physical work of designing and building the amazing stone structures, of which many still stand and are in use today.  These operative masons developed a secret method of recognition for those who had achieved the level of Master, meaning they were the ones who had gone through the apprentice and journeyman work, and proven them to be the best of the best.  These Masters could travel freely from town to town, even crossing country borders, being known for their knowledge and professionalism, and the level of skill that was very much sought after at the time.  Those achieving the status of Master had earned the ability to earn wages by which they could support themselves and families, and to assist those in need, and to bring in new apprentices to be trained. These Masters also held true to a strong moral code, which was important when travelling and seeking employment by the many religious organizations, as well as royalty, who were seeking these magnificent stone edifices.  

Eventually, as the use of stone masons for building phased out due to new construction methods, the trade groups grew smaller.  The organizations started taking in members that, though they may have come from different trades, or even those who were intellectuals rather than tradesmen, were taking an interest in the methods of teaching that the groups used.  The use of symbolism, along with story, has always been found to be one of the most impressionable ways of teaching, across all walks of life.  Eventually, the practice of Masonry phased into a completely speculative, or non-working form of Freemasonry.  Rather than building physical edifices, the speculative Mason is a builder of men.  The major tenants of Freemasonry are Friendship, Morality, and Brotherly Love.  The Freemasons were the first structured and well organized group to espouse such ideas as religious toleration and liberty, which were wild ideas at the time of the Reformation, which led to much of the reason for being secretive.  In those days, a person running afoul of the church, or the King’s law, (sometimes one and the same), could be persecuted, or much worse.  Much of the reason for the use of secrecy today, is based in ritual tradition, as well as curiosity. 

Famous Freemasons

When you look at a list of well known Freemasons, it is no wonder that conspiracy theorists try to find connections to some deeply hidden secret.  The connections do run deep though, they are all, (or almost all), men of high moral character, who are not content to sitting around and waiting for something to happen.  These are men who are active in their community, leaders of industry or even nations, musicians, athletes, generals, and yes, even farmers.  Men like George Washington, Ben Franklin, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Davey Crocket, Jim Bowie, William Travis, and William Clark, Christopher “Kit” Carson,  were all Masons in the early years of the country, and helped to establish its roots.  Presidents like Monroe, Jackson, Buchanan, Johnson, Harding, Garfield, Polk, Mckinley, Taft, Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, Truman, and Ford were all Freemasons, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Samuel Clemens, Irving Berlin, Ernest Borgnine, Clark Gable, Cecil B. DeMille, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Pryor, Michael Richards, Roy Rogers, Peter Sellers, Richard “Red” Skelton, John Philip Sousa, Oscar Wilde, Brad Paisley, Phil Collins, Rudyard Kipling, and John Wayne are just a few actors, entertainers, musicians and writers who are members of the fraternity.  Sports figures such as Arnold Palmer, Shaquille O’Neil, John Elway, Jack Kemp and Tim Horton are or have been members, along with business leaders such as Dave Thomas, Steve Wozniak, Henry Ford, Samuel Colt, and Harland Sanders. Astronauts such as Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, John Glenn, Leroy “Gordo” Cooper, Virgil “Gus” Grissom,  as well as General Douglas MacArthur, Admiral Richard Byrd, and the most decorated soldier in WWII, Audie Murphey, all graced the halls of Masonic Lodges.  This is but a tiny representation of the fraternity.  Mostly, we are your everyday neighbor, landscaper, electrician, carpenter, lawyer, fireman, soldier, teacher, and friend. 

What We Do

We gather for the purpose of building each other up, looking out for one another, and discussing matters on an intellectual level (other than religion and politics which are forbidden).  Charity is an important part of the fraternity, which overall donates on average about a Million dollars a day for numerous causes.  The many Masonic Organizations all have different causes, but some of the main ones in NY are the Masonic Care Community, The Masonic Medical Research Laboratory, The Masonic Safety ID program, numerous veterans and scholarship programs, and of course the Shrine Hospitals for Children. 

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