Our History
More than two centuries on the banks of the Hudson, and the only riverside lodge to outlast them all.
The story of Solomon's Lodge runs alongside the story of Tarrytown itself, through the young Republic, the bitter years of the Anti-Masonic movement, reunion and revival, and into the present day.
From White Plains to the River
The lodge was chartered in 1812 by the Grand Lodge of the State of New York. It was first numbered 209 and held its earliest meetings in White Plains. In 1821 it removed to Tarrytown, where for many years it stood as the only active Masonic lodge in the riverside towns of Westchester County.
The Anti-Masonic Years
In the late 1820s and 1830s, a wave of anti-Masonic feeling swept the nation, and lodges everywhere went dark. Solomon's Lodge was not spared: its original charter was forfeited in 1833. But the fraternity in Tarrytown did not vanish for good.
Revival & Reunion
In 1849 the lodge was revived as No. 18 under the short-lived St. John's Grand Lodge. The following year brought reconciliation: at the Grand Masonic Union of 1850, held at Tripler Hall in Manhattan and preserved in a celebrated lithograph by Charles Crehen, the lodge reunited with the Grand Lodge of the State of New York, taking at last the number it carries today.
A Lodge Through Time
The Building
Since 1897, the lodge has met in the Tarrytown Masonic Building at 54 Main Street, long known to the Brethren as the "Corporation" Building. Rising above the historic heart of the village, it was purpose-built for Masonry, with a custom-designed lodge room on the third floor.
It has never been ours alone. The building is shared by five Masonic lodges and the district's Masonic Charity Corporation, a working monument to the fellowship that has defined this place for well over a century.
The Building & the Legend →The Next Chapter
Two hundred years of history are carried forward by the men of today. There may be a place in it for you.