Bonded in brotherhood since the very beginning.
The history of New York’s Grand Lodge dates back to 1781. It descends from the United Grand Lodge of England, where Freemasonry originated in the early 1600s. Many well-known men have passed through New York’s ranks, including household names like John Jacob Astor, Harry Houdini, and New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. Famous Masons from other jurisdictions include George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Mark Twain, Louis Armstrong, Winston Churchill, and John Wayne.
Colonial Roots
Colonel Daniel Coxe appointed Provincial Grand Master for New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania in 1730.
Captain Richard Riggs arrives in New York and organizes the Provincial Grand Lodge in 1738.
The Grand Lodge gets it's Charter from the Duke of Atholl in 1871.
George Washington Inauguration
On April 30, 1789, George Washington was sworn in at Federal Hall by Robert R. Livingston, Chancellor of New York and Grand Master. The Bible used was from St. John's Lodge No. 1, warranted in 1757, the oldest lodge in the state. A leaf recording the ceremony was later bound into it.
Morgan Affair
The Morgan Affair triggers anti‑Masonic sentiment; Governor DeWitt Clinton, a prominent Mason, publicly defends the fraternity.
Many Lodges close across the Northeast United States and activities are few for many years.
Home & Assylum
In 1842, Greenfield Pote, Grand Tiler, places a silver dollar on the Grand Lodge altar and calls for a home for indigent Masons, their wives, widows, and orphans.
The current location in Utica is chosen and the cornerstone is laid in 1891, opened the follwoing year.
Camp Turk
Trustees of the Masonic Hall and Asylum Fund purchase over 1500 acres in the Adirondacks to create a summer retreat for children and residents of the Masonic Home in Utica. It includes Round Lake, a private 56‑acre spring‑fed lake. Children arrived for the first summer session in August 1924.
DeWint House
The DeWint House, George Washington’s headquarters on four occasions during the Revolutionary War—was preserved by the Grand Lodge beginning in 1932 and later designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. The Masons have maintained and restored the site ever since.
Masonic Medical Research
In 1947, the Masonic Foundation for Medical Research and Human Welfare is established to focus on rheumatic fever in children and degenerative diseases in adults. After extensive fundraising, it became a dedicated research institution in 1958.
Prince Hall Recognition
The Grand Lodge of New York and the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of New York establish mutual recognition, aligning with national trends.
