Freemasonry in the Canal Zone

The District Grand Lodge

At the Panama Canal Lodge of Instruction
in the Republic of Panama
 Agenda
• Before the Canal (1821 -1895)
• French Canal
• Freemasonry at the Panama Canal (1898 – 1920)
• Freemasons on the Isthmus
• Beginning
• Sojourners Lodge
• Army Lodge
• Darien Lodge
• Sibert Lodge
 Symbolic Masonry on the Isthmus
1821-1850

• Under the Grand Orient of Spain, the first Panamenian

Lodge was funded on July 14, 1821, named “Mejor
Union”
• Half of the dignataries who signed the Independence
from Spain, later that year (nov 21); were members of
Mejor Union Lodge
• After the independence “Mejor Union” got a new Charter
from the Grand Lodge of New York and later on 1825
changed again to obtain a Charter from the Grand Orient
from Colombia
 Symbolic Masonry on the Isthmus
1850-1895
• Between 1849 and 1855, with the presence of passers-
Masons, and the cooperation of those residing in the
country, formed a Lodge with Chartered under the Grand
Lodge of Texas, who did charity work in nature, ritual
and social action.
• A "Masonic Mission Station“ was establish in Panama
City, to meet the Masons in distress due to illness or lack
of resources.
• It was at this time, that was put into effect the
construction and inauguration of the Inter-Oceanic
Railway between Colon and Panama, and in 1850 was
founded the Union Lodge under Charter of the Grand
Lodge of Texas, which operated until 1853.
 Symbolic Masonry on the Isthmus
1850-1895
• A new era began and the possibilities of building the
Panama Canal, were explored
• In 1866 “Isthmus Lodge” was founded the, an English
speaking lodge, under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts,
which later transferred their allegiance to the Grand
Orient of Colombia.
• In 1875 there was a Franco Granada Lodge, its name
denoting cooperation of French Masons, when outlining
the new wave of migration that would later serve for the
construction of the canal by the French.
 Symbolic Masonry on the Isthmus
French Canal
• A strongly notorious Masonic activity was shown
during the French Canal construction and lodges emerged
in the cities of Panama and Colon, under the Gran Oriente
Colombiano de Cartagena, from 1887 to 1895.

• Lodges like "Light of the East", "Pacific Star", "Le Travail",

in Panama and Colon's "Granada, " "Brotherly Union" and
"Manzanillo", among
others, were funded.
Symbolic Masonry on the Isthmus
• One of the earliest lodges of which records exists was called
Fidelidad No. 48, of the Grand Orient of New Granada (later to
be called Colombia) in the city of Colon, Department of
Panama.
• This lodge, working in the Spanish language, was composed of
merchants and professional men of Colon and employees of the
Panama Railroad. As many of the employees of the Panama
Railroad were Englishmen and Americans who did not speak
Spanish fluently, it was thought advisable to erect an English-
speaking lodge, so a petition to the Grand Lodge of Scotland
was signed by these Masons.
• In February of 1898 a charter under the name of Sojourners'
Lodge No. 874 was granted to the petitioners by the Grand
Lodge of Scotland.
Freemasonry in the Canal Zone
• Masonry in the Canal Zone
had its beginnings in 1898
when Sojourners Lodge No.
874 was founded in Colon,
Republic of Panama, under the
Grand Lodge of Scotland.
• As more and more Americans
arrived on the Isthmus to work
for the Panama Railroad and
the Canal, they began to apply
to Sojourners Lodge as
affiliated members or as
candidates for the degrees.
• Over a period of years the
membership in Sojourners
Lodge became predominantly
American.
• The long delays in
communications between
Scotland and the desire for
closer ties with their homeland,
led the members to seek a
connection with a Grand Lodge
in the United States.
• One of the Grand Lodges
contacted was the Grand
Lodge of Massachusetts.
• On September 11, 1912, Most
Worshipful Everett C. Benton,
Grand Master of the Grand
Lodge of Massachusetts,
announced in the regular
Quarterly Communication two
dispensations
Sojourners Lodge
• Early in January, 1913, Most Worshipful Benton,
accompanied by the Deputy Grand Master, Right
Worshipful Herbert E. Fletcher and the Recording Grand
Secretary, Right Worshipful Thomas W. Davis,
journeyed to the Canal Zone.
• On January 18 opened a Special Communication of the
Grand Lodge of Massachusetts for the purpose of
constituting Sojourners Lodge and installing the officers.
• It is recorded that there were present Masons from forty
states, two dependencies and four foreign countries.
There were 190 charter members in the lodge.
Army Lodge
• In November of 1914T the 5th Infantry was to be stationed
at Camp Empire about midway of the Isthmus making
attendance at either Sojourners or Canal Zone Lodges
very inconvenient.
• Thirty-two Brethren attended and a petition was drawn up.
It was voted to call themselves Army Lodge.
• On June 8, 1915 the Grand Master, Most Worshipful
Melvin M. Johnson, granted the dispensation and
appointed Brother Edgerly to be the first Master.
• On March 8, 1916 the Charter was granted but the formal
ceremony of constitution was not held until May 20, 1916
• More than three hundred Masons attended the affair.
Darien Lodge
• In 1917, eighty- eight
Master Masons signed a
petition for a dispensation
to start a lodge to be
called Darien Lodge in
Balboa.
• This was granted on May
16, 1917.
• Special Communication
held on August 8, 1918
the lodge was constituted
in full form according to
the Ancient usages of the
Craft.
Sibert Lodge
• It was reported in the
Communication of
December 11, 1918, that
a Special Warrant had
been issued on
December 6 to • The Charter for Sibert
Worshipful Francis M. Lodge was approved by
Easton and forty-three Grand Lodge on
others to form Sibert September 10, 1919 and
Lodge (under the lodge was constituted
dispensation) at Gatun, by Right Worshipful
Canal Zone. Ralph Osborn, District
Grand Master, on
February 2, 1920.
 • Seven lodges were
Chagres Lodge constituted in the period
1912 through 1922.
• The last lodge to be • Masonry had expanded
erected in the Canal Zone to the point where a close
was Chagres Lodge tie with the Grand Lodge
which was warranted was needed to expedite
under dispensation on and handle the affairs in
March 8, 1921. the Canal Zone.
• The Charter was
approved on December
14,1921 by Grand Lodge
and the lodge constituted
at a Special DGL
Communication, February
6,1922, by WM Clinton G.
Garty acting as DGM.
Famous Freemasons
Edwin Aldrin
Ludwing Van Beethoven
Winston Churchil

Henry Ford
Marqués de La Fayette
Simón Bolívar

Benito Juárez
Walt Disney
Harry Houdini

Alejandro Dumas
Nicolo Paganini
Peter Sellers
Famous Freemasons
Sir Baden Powel
Francisco de Miranda
José María Morelos

José Martí
Napoleón Bonaparte
André Citroen

François Marie Voltaire

Walter Chrysler
Eberhard Faber

Sir Alexander Fleming

Santiago Ramón y Cajal
Sigmund Freud
Famous Freemasons
Mario Moreno
Rudyard Kipling
Giuseppe Garibaldi

Martin Luther King

Wolfgang A. Mozart
Antonio Machado

Franklin D. Roosevelt
George Washington
Domingo F. Sarmiento

And many more

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Thanks

The Right Worshipful District Grand Lodge

of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Massachusetts
At Panama