A Lecture by Bro HD Johnson on the occasion of the sesquicentennial of the Grand Lodge of New Brunswick
Formation of the Grand Lodge of New Brunswick
The story of the formation of the Grand Lodge of New Brunswick parallels the events leading up to and following Canadian confederation. Conditions surrounding the creation of the province, and subsequently the country, similarly impacted the establishment of Freemasonry within New Brunswick. When settlers first arrived in the Maritimes in the 17th and 18th centuries, the territory was viewed, and later governed, as a single colony which they named Nova Scotia. When Freemasonry was first established in this part of the world, it was as part of Nova Scotia, as New Brunswick did not yet exist.
In the mid-1700s, when Freemasonry was being established in Nova Scotia, lodges were granted charters from the Grand Lodge of England. We must consider how difficult it would be for Freemasonry in Nova Scotia to be governed at a distance from the Grand Lodge in England at that time. The wired telegraph wasn’t invented until 1792, and wireless telegraphy didn’t exist until 1902. In 1751, when Freemasonry was being established in Nova Scotia, the only way to communicate with the Grand Lodge in England was by written communication that was sent by ship. In the mid-1700s, a trans-Atlantic crossing took anywhere from 6 weeks to three months in each direction. That means it took anywhere from 3 months to half a year to get a response to any letter which was sent from Nova Scotia to the Grand Lodge of England. In today’s era of instant worldwide communication, it’s almost impossible to fathom, but even in those times the slowness of the response was problematic.
In 1751, the leading figure in Freemasonry in Nova Scotia was Laurence Dermot. Dermot had some disagreements with the Grand Lodge of England, and it took several months to get any kind of response out of them when communications were sent from Nova Scotia to England. Under Dermot’s influence, he ran a quasi-judicial grand lodge in Nova Scotia which has since been referred to as a “Dermot Grand Lodge.” Dermot was meant to enforce masonic principles from England, but in reality took great liberties. Dermot wanted Freemasonry to spread and wanted as many subordinate bodies as possible under his Grand Lodge. In 1781, there were two lodges in Halifax which had warrants from the Grand Lodge of England, which were St Andrews Lodge No. 155 and St. John Lodge No. 211. However, under Dermot’s leadership, these two lodges started granting dispensations, and five other lodges were formed, all theoretically part of the Grand Lodge of England, but without direct authority from Europe.
In late 1781, a group of concerned Freemasons from Nova Scotia wrote to the Grand Lodge of England requesting that a provincial Grand Lodge be created in Nova Scotia so that clandestine elements did not take over the Craft in the colonies. They wrote a second letter in October 1782 making further request for their own provincial grand lodge. After much letter writing and discussion, in June 1784 the petitioners were granted their request, and the Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia was established in Halifax, having dominion over all of Nova Scotia, yet subservient to the Grand Lodge of England.
Two months later, in August 1784, disenchanted with the government in Halifax, the land north of the Bay of Fundy was established as the new province of New Brunswick. However, Freemasonry would still be governed by the Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia, as it had been given jurisdiction over the territory when it was all one province.
When Dermot’s lodges were granting dispensations and charters throughout the original province of Nova Scotia, one of the lodges that was created was Hiram Lodge in Saint John in early 1784. The lodge included some of the Loyalists from New York who had fled to Saint John during the American War of Independence. Following the establishment of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia later that year, Hiram Lodge applied for a warrant under the new Provincial Grand Lodge. Hiram Lodge was the first masonic lodge operating in the territory of present-day New Brunswick, although it lost its warrant in 1796
In the early 1800s, lodges continued to be warranted in New Brunswick under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia. Over time, Freemasons in New Brunswick began to question why they were paying dues to the Provincial Grand Lodge in Halifax, which was no longer part of their own province, and began to question whether and how they ought to form their own grand lodge in New Brunswick. Historical records show that our predecessors had great difficulty in achieving this goal, which took over 40 years to achieve.
When the Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia was initially formed, it received this dispensation from the Grand Lodge of England, which was part of the Ancients. In 1813, the Ancients merged with the Moderns to form the
The story surrounding Hiram Lodge’s loss of warrant is quite contentious, and would make for an interesting Masonic discussion at a future meeting.
United Grand Lodge of England. The new United Grand Lodge was busy consolidating its affairs in Europe, and paid scarce attention to the requests coming from the colonies. Further complicating matters, because New Brunswick had become its own province shortly after the formation of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia, some lodges continued to seek warrants from England while others sought them from Halifax. Some additionally sought warrants from the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and still others from the Grand Lodge of Ireland.
In 1828, the first attempt was made to form a grand lodge in New Brunswick. The masters of the three city lodges sent a letter to the Provincial Grand Master of Nova Scotia requesting his assistance in forming a Provincial Grand Lodge in Saint John. The request was granted on two conditions: that documents be produced to show that this was the will of the fraternity in New Brunswick, and that all dues in arrears be paid to the Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia first. However, it appears that no action took place after receiving this approval.
In 1829, a second attempt was made to form a provincial grand lodge in New Brunswick. This time, the petitioners were much bolder, and proposed the formation of an independent grand lodge, free from the control of both Nova Scotia and England. Five lodges met in Saint John, and on November 4th, 1829, the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of New Brunswick was formally constituted. However, the brethren appear to have been inconsistent in their thinking, because while they sought an independent Grand Lodge, they decided at that same meeting to apply for a warrant from the Grand Lodge of England granting their independence. No further communication was received on the matter, and the second attempt at forming a grand lodge in New Brunswick faltered. Nothing further transpired for 26 years.
In July 1855, the provincial Grand Master in Nova Scotia, RWBro Alexander Keith held a meeting in Saint John (RWBro being the title given to Grand Masters at the time). At that meeting, he authorized the Worshipful Master of Albion Lodge to communicate with the other lodges in New Brunswick to see if there was interest in appointing a deputy provincial grand master in New Brunswick, so that there would be someone local to consult on masonic matters, and then to nominate someone. RWBro Alexander Balloch was installed in October 1855, and a deputy provincial grand lodge office was promptly organized in Saint John. However, within 4 years, the brethren in New Brunswick were dissatisfied at being a subordinate to the Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia, and once again wrote to the Grand Lodge of England requesting permission to establish their own provincial grand lodge. RWBro Alexander Keith approved of the request and sent it on to England, and on 4th July 1859, a patent was issued creating a provincial grand lodge under the Grand Lodge of England.
New Brunswick operated as a provincial grand lodge from 1859 until 1867. Wanting greater independence, a meeting was called at the masonic hall in Saint John on October 9th and 10th, 1867. Nineteen out of the twenty-six lodges in New Brunswick attended to discuss changing their grand lodge from being a provincial grand lodge, subject to the decisions of the Grand Lodge of England, to becoming a fully independent Grand Lodge. Following a vote of a large majority of the members, the following resolution was unanimously passed:
Resolved, That the representatives now in convention assembled, on behalf of the lodges represented by them, do hereby declare themselves to be “THE MOST WORSHIPFUL GRAND LODGE OF ANCIENT FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS OF NEW BRUNSWICK.”
It was thus, only 100 days after Canada became a country, our Grand Lodge achieved its independence as well.
Formation of Keith Lodge
But what, then, of Keith Lodge? How was our lodge formed? To answer that question, it is first helpful to reflect on the historical conditions in our city back in the 19th century.
Many of the iconic features and buildings in Moncton did not exist in the early 1800s. The Free Meeting House was constructed in 1821, but it is one of the only buildings left in Moncton that existed when Keith Lodge was founded. Victoria Park wasn’t created until 1901, and it wasn’t until a story was printed in the Saint John Telegraph Journal in 1933 that the public learned about a strange attraction on the outskirts of the city called Magnetic Hill.
In 1836, Moncton as we know it today was little more than a small collection of farms. Indeed, in 1836, only 20 households lived in the area known as The Bend, where the Petitcodiac River makes a sharp turn towards the Bay of Fundy, near Hall’s Creek. The Bend was such a small community that it was dwarfed by the much larger communities of Sackville, Shediac, and Dorchester. The completion of the Westmorland Road, which connected Halifax and Saint John and which was accessible year-round, was the impetus for Moncton’s growth as a strategic hub.
Things slowly started to change in the 1840s. Wooden shipbuilding was a booming industry in New Brunswick, and some enterprising businessmen saw an opportunity to bring that industry to Moncton. Shipbuilding started out small, but started to grow with the arrival of Joseph Salter to Moncton in 1847. Salter took over a small shipyard, and within a few years of his arrival, had grown the business to over 400 workers. The Westmorland Bank was opened to help finance the growth of the shipbuilding industry in this county. Over 1,000 people worked at the shipyard or in related support industries. Things were looking up for the small community at The Bend, even if it was still relatively small. For reference, today’s Victoria Park was on the outskirts of the
community at that time, although back then it was a woodlot subsequently known as the Moncton Commons.
The first meeting of Keith Lodge was held on 27th January 1853, after receiving a dispensation from RWBro Alexander Keith. Keith Lodge’s original warrant came from the United Grand Lodge of England, and was No. 927 on their rolls. At its founding, the lodge had only 8 members, many of whom were connected to the shipbuilding industry. The very first master of Keith Lodge No. 927 was WBro Stephen Binney. The original warrant authorized Keith Lodge to hold its meetings in Moncton on the Thursday after the new moon in each month, a far less regular schedule than we have today.
Keith Lodge’s first meeting was held in the “Old Temperance Hall” on Moncton’s Telegraph Street.2 That building was later moved to Steadman Street and was renovated to be apartments. The lodge subsequently moved to the “Old McCurdy” School House at the head of Steadman Street, where they held meetings for a short period of time. The lodge soon made a third move, to Christopher Robin’s Building on Main Street, and then to the old Goodyear Hall at the lower end of Main Street. The fifth move was to the third floor of Moncton’s Duffy Block.
In 1855, shipbuilding was still booming, and The Bend became incorporated as the Town of Moncton. Joseph Salter, whose shipbuilding business helped create the town, was selected as the first mayor. Moncton’s location along the route from Halifax to Saint John is noted, and in 1857 the European and North American Railway opened its first line from Moncton to Shediac, with a subsequent line built to Saint John. By 1861, the population of Moncton reached 1,396 people.
Around the time that the railway was starting to arrive in Moncton, steam- powered ships were replacing wooden boats, and wooden shipbuilding came to an end in the city. The Westmorland Bank declared bankruptcy, and the population of Moncton plummeted to less than 1,000 people. In 1862, Moncton surrendered its civic charter and ceased to be a town.
2 Telegraph Street is known today as Lewis Street. A map of Moncton from 1881 is included at the end of this lecture.
At the same time that Moncton’s fortunes were declining, the provincial grand lodge was established, and Keith Lodge changed its number to Keith Lodge No. 644 on the rolls of provincial grand lodges.
In 1867, Keith Lodge attended the meeting in Saint John where the independent Grand Lodge of New Brunswick was formed, and voted in opposition to the movement. However, after the Grand Lodge was formed, Keith Lodge reconsidered its position and decided to join with the other lodges in New Brunswick under the new Grand Lodge. Keith Lodge surrendered its charter to the United Grand Lodge of England, and on 3rd July 1868, Keith Lodge No. 23 was constituted on the rolls of the Grand Lodge of New Brunswick.
By 1871, Moncton was not doing well. The population had shrunk to 600 people and shipbuilding had left. However, this was the year that Moncton’s fortunes would start to change. That same year, the Intercolonial Railway, which was the forerunner of the Canadian National Railway, decided to set up its headquarters in Moncton. By 1875, Moncton was reincorporated as a town, and it adopted the motto Resurgo, which means “I rise again.” By 1881, the population surpassed 5,000 people, and in 1890 it became a city.
In 1880, the upper floor of the Duffy Block caught on fire along with several other buildings, and Keith Lodge lost most of its furniture. The Knights of Pythias offered use of their Castle Hall on Robinson Street, where Keith met until 1884. In that year, Moncton City Hall was built and a lodge room was included in the upper part of the new building. The lodge met at City Hall for several years until its membership outgrew the size of the lodge room. The lodge moved to its eighth meeting location in the Palmer Block on Main Street. Around this time, the Royal Bank of Canada was making plans to erect a building at the corner of Main and Alma Streets. The bank’s manager approved the use of the building’s upper story for a Masonic Hall, which was to become Keith Lodge’s ninth home, and one of the finest lodge rooms in the Maritimes at the time.
Our story on the early history of Keith Lodge ends in the 1920s. With the city growing, in 1921 the members of Keith Lodge decided to join forces with the brethren of Tweedie Lodge to create the Moncton Masonic Temple Limited. Their combined membership of over 200 members meant that they could no longer fit into the lodge rooms at the Royal Bank building. From 1923 to 1924, the Moncton Masonic Temple was constructed at the corner of Queen and Alma Streets, and is the 10th and current meeting location of Keith Lodge. This building is now on the register of Historic Places of Canada, and was designed by architect JW Frazer. The contractor who oversaw the construction of the building was Ambrose Wheeler, who became Mayor of Moncton in 1926; Wheeler Blvd. is named after Mr Wheeler.
Conclusion
This year, we mark 150 years since the formation of the independent Grand Lodge of New Brunswick. We also mark 164 years since Keith Lodge held its first meeting in an inauspicious building in a town that didn’t yet have a name. The history of our lodge, and the history of our Grand Lodge, are intertwined with the history of our city, province, and country. In a tough climate, with poor communication, difficult living conditions, and a sparse population, our brethren sought opportunities to meet and support one another, and to grow the craft so more men could take part. We continue to benefit from their hard work today.