Hiram Lodge celebrates 200th birthday with annual BBQ June 6
By Joe Aprill, for the Williamson Herald
news@williamsonherald.com
Williamson County’s Hiram Lodge #7 will celebrate its 200th birthday this year by hosting a number of events, including its annual BBQ fundraiser in June and an open house candlelight tour in October.
David Moran, the currently elected master of the lodge, stated the Hiram Lodge’s charter lists the group’s beginning in Dec. 11, 1809, under the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. It then wasn’t till 1813 that Tennessee formed its own Grand Lodge and under it the Hiram Lodge has become the oldest continually chartered lodge of Freemasons in Tennessee. In the United States, every state has its own Grand Lodge.
Moran explained that the overtly secretive portrayal of Freemasons found in some of the media isn’t accurate and the truth is that Freemasons are average men of all sorts that come together to better themselves. To give a picture to those unfamiliar with the organization, Freemasonry is comparable to a College fraternity.
“Our business meetings are private just like any other organization,” said Moran. “Also our initiation ceremonies and greetings are private, but anything about Masonry can be found in a good library.”
Freemasonry has developed over time to involve many degrees and branches of study, but its base is called the Blue Lodge, where the three most important degrees in Masonry are achieved. Three of the major ladders or paths are the Scottish, York and Shriner. Shriners and Shriner Hospitals are known by quite a few people, but hardly as many are aware that all Shriners are Freemasons.
Moran mentioned that one of the key traits of Freemasons is that they all share a belief in a greater power. This means that Freemasonry is non-denominational and welcoming of almost all religious backgrounds including Christianity, Judaism, Islam and many other faiths.
According to Moran, Masonic research has placed the beginning of Freemasonry in Scotland during the 16th century where it branched from the actual stonemason guilds that helped build the cathedrals of Europe. In time non-stonemasons were accepted into the group and the first meeting of a Masonic lodge in a public building was in 1717 in London. Since then Freemasonry has spread around the world where each region has added its own flavor to the organization’s traditions.
John Palmer, former Grand Master of Tennessee’s Grand Lodge, offered his scholarly opinion on why Freemasonry played such an important role in American history, beginning with the fact that many of the Founding Fathers were Freemasons including John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.
“The concept of a democratic republic was a brand new idea back then, “ said Palmer. “Freemasonry included many of these ideas and was a place that allowed people to express their intellectual liberty. So the founders took many ideas from the organization.”
Palmer added that Freemasonry promotes individual responsibility, freedom of thought and holding obligations to your fellow man. These and the general notion of equality through fraternity are well exhibited in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. Along with Washington and Adams, a total of 14 US Presidents have been Freemasons. Only two of those Presidents served as Grand Masters of their state’s Grand Lodge, Andrew Jackson of Tennessee and Harry S. Truman of Missouri.
The building that has roofed Hiram Lodge #7 at 115 2nd Ave. S. in Franklin, since 1823 has been an important landmark of local history beginning with its Gothic Revival design, which has made it now the oldest structure of that style in all of Tennessee. During the Civil War, the building was used as an observation post and hospital, which in part lead to it receiving considerable damage. The building also served to help foster spirituality in Franklin by providing a roof for a number of churches before they were able to obtain their own property, including Catholic and Church of Christ congregations. After being almost as old as the organization it houses, the building is in need of renovation.
“We’re struggling to maintain the building,” said Palmer. “We’ve been able to make by, but we’re now undertaking a project to reinforce the building’s floors.”
Being a volunteer organization, the Hiram Lodge has done its best to raise funds through such fundraisers as the upcoming annual BBQ dinner that will be held on June 6 from 4-8 p.m. and is open to the public. This is the largest fundraiser of the year for the Hiram Lodge and with the help of the community hopefully one of Franklin’s most amazing landmarks will be around for another 200 years.
Posted on: 5/14/2009
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