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| Established | December 15, 1782 (1782-12-15) |
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| Location | |
Region | New York |
Grand Master | Steven Adam Rubin |
| Website | www |
TheGrand Lodge of New York, officially theGrand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, is the largest and oldest of several organizations ofFreemasons that are based in the U.S. state ofNew York.[1] The offices of the Grand Lodge are located atMasonic Hall in New York City.
TheGrand Lodge of New York was founded December 15, 1782 and it acts as the coordinating body for many Masonic functions undertaken throughout the state. Its various committees organize the Masonic Home inUtica, theLivingston Masonic Library[2] and various charitable events around New York State. The Grand Lodge of New York has more than 24,000 members[3] among more than 400 lodges[4] and an additional 9 lodges inLebanon. The GLNY first began chartering lodges in Lebanon in 1924.[5]
The first documented presence of Freemasonry in New York dates from the mid-1730s, whenDaniel Coxe Jr. (1673–1739), was appointed byCharles Howard, 10th Duke of Norfolk, the Grand Master of thePremier Grand Lodge of England, known to historians as the "Moderns", to act as a ProvincialGrand Master for the provinces of New York,New Jersey, andPennsylvania. No authenticated primary source records exist of his tenure as Provincial Grand Master, and he died a few years after his appointment. Thus, it seems doubtful that he exercised any real authority in Masonic endeavors.
From 1738 to the 1780s, additional Warrants were issued by the GLE, the Moderns, to Francis Goelet (1738–1753), George Harrison (1753–1771) andSir John Johnson (1771–1783) to serve as Provincial Grandmaster. As Johnson was a supporter of the British during theAmerican Revolution, he is believed to have taken his warrant with him when he fled to Canada, thus leaving the Moderns Lodges without aProvincial Grand Master.[6]
To further complicate matters, by the 1750s, theAntient Grand Lodge of England, known to historians as the "Ancients", a rival Masonic Grand Lodge, had also created a Provincial Grand Lodge of New York, which subsequently chartered lodges under its own jurisdiction. Additional lodges were chartered in New York by theGrand Lodge of Scotland and theGrand Lodge of Ireland.
The Ancients retained their charter throughout the Revolution, and it was based upon this charter that an independent Grand Lodge of New York was created in 1781, withRobert R. Livingston as Grand Master. The Grand Lodge of New York was officially organized on December 15, 1782, under the Provincial Grand Warrant dated September 5, 1781, from the “Athol” or Antient Grand Lodge of England. The warrant was issued byJohn Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl who was serving as Grand Master of the Antient Grand Lodge of England at the time.
The Grand Lodge declared its independence and assumed its modern title “Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York” on June 6, 1787. While the "Athol" Charter descended from the "Ancients", Livingston himself was a member of a "Modern" Lodge. Thus the two rival Grand Lodge traditions, which in England did not unite until 1813, had already merged before that in New York State.
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Early Masonic meetings and meetings of the Grand Lodge were likely held at taverns as well as an early iteration ofTammany Hall. On June 24, 1826 the cornerstone was laid for a Gothic styleMasonic Hall on Broadway in lower Manhattan between Reade and Pearl Streets, directly across from the original site of theNew York Hospital.[7] This would serve as the home of the Grand Lodge until it the building was demolished in 1856.[8] Perhaps the most important Masonic in this period was the merger of the Grand Lodge of New York with the St. John Grand Lodge, which took place atTripler Hall on December 27, 1850.[9]
Due to infighting in the Grand Lodge, thePanic of 1857, and the Civil War, it would not be until the 1870s, that the Grand Lodge would again have a permanent meeting location. In 1870, the cornerstone was laid for a newSecond French Empire Style building which served as the headquarters of the Grand Lodge from 1875 to 1909.
The currentGrand Lodge building is located at 23rd Street and 6th Avenue and was built in 1909, on the same site as the 1875 Grand Lodge Building. At the time, the building caused some controversy, and Past Grand Master James Ten Eyck resigned as Trustee of the Masonic Hall and Asylum Fund in an effort to convince the then sitting Grand MasterTownsend Scudder that the construction of the building would be unwise.[10]
St. John's Lodge No. 1, chartered on December 5, 1757,[11] is the oldest operating Lodge under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of New York.[12] St. John's Lodge is the custodian of what is now known as theGeorge Washington Inaugural Bible. On April 30, 1789, it was upon this Bible that George Washington took his oath of office as the firstpresident of the United States.[13] In 2009, the Lodge formed a registered public charity for the purpose of preserving, maintaining and restoring theGeorge Washington Inaugural Bible. In 2014, the St. John's Lodge No. 1 Foundation, Inc. received recognition as an IRS 501(c)3.[14]
Warren Lodge No. 32 has the distinction of being the New York's only remainingFull Moon Lodge, whereby its monthly meeting date is the "Thursday before every full moon", rather than on a set calendar day.[15]
The Grand Lodge of New York has a long history of supporting charitable causes. Among the organizations that are rooted in its charitable endeavors are, theMasonic Medical Research Institute, Acacia Village and Masonic Home inUtica; the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Library andMuseum in New York and Utica; the Masonic Youth Camp at Camp Turk inWoodgate; theDeWint House atTappan and its many charitable activities of its annual Brotherhood Fund Drive. The Grand Lodge sponsors drug and alcohol awareness programs in schools, and gives thousands of dollars a day to worthy charities around the State.
The Masonic youth group Organization of Triangles, Inc., was founded in New York in 1925.[16]
Since 2001, the Grand Lodge of New York has had mutual recognition with thePrince Hall Grand Lodge of New York.[17]
The current Grand Master is Steven Adam Rubin whose term extends until May 2026. Notable past Grand Masters are as follows:[18]
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