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Caleb
Butler Lodge A.F. & A.M. |
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Website: |
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http://www.calebbutlerlodge.com/default.htm |
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Address: |
11 Sculley
Road
Ayer, MA 01432 -
Map |
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Meeting Information: |
| The second Monday of
each month between September and June |
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Contact Information: |
Geoffrey Kromer,
Masonic Ambassador
978.448.1292
calebbutler@massfreemasonry.net |
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History: |
In the latter part of
the 1850’s, there were several Masons living
in Groton and it’s environs who were
interested enough in Masonry to want to
perfect themselves in the work of the ritual
to gain a more thorough knowledge of the
laws, customs, history and teachings of the
order.
With this idea in mind, they were accustomed
to meet at convenient times and places.
Finally they became imbued with the desire
to form a new lodge and for this purpose met
at the home of E. Dana Bancroft on the
corner of Williams and Nashua Street, South
Groton, now Ayer.
They organized themselves with E. Dana
Bancroft as chairman and Arthur Fenner as
secretary. They voted the name of the lodge
to be “Excelsior”, that the regular
communication would be on the first Monday
after the full moon in each month. The time
of the meetings has since changed to the
second Monday of the month where it is at
the present time. For officers they elected
E. Dana Bancroft as Master, O.N. Wing as
Senior Warden, Augustus Dike as Junior
Warden, Arthur Fenner as Treasurer and
William F. Goulding as Secretary.
They voted that the ten members present be
responsible for fifteen dollars for the
purpose of obtaining a dispensation from the
Grand Lodge to work the degrees in
Freemasonry. They then adjourned to meet at
the call of the Master.
Evidently the petition was favorably
received by the Grand Lodge, for they
received a summons from the Master to meet
again on March 28. At that time, the
dispensation was read, and they proceeded at
once with the election of the remaining
officers. It was voted that a Committee of
Five be elected, to be known as a Ways and
Means Committee to obtain enough money by
loan or otherwise on the best possible terms
to furnish lodge rooms, and to properly
expand that money. They then adjourned the
regular communication at the lodge rooms.
To help defray the expense of the quarters,
they sublet the rooms to Harmony Division
No. 98 of the Sons of Temperance. The rental
fee was to be $37.50 per quarter and a
proportionate share of the cost of
maintenance for meetings every Friday. The
rooms proved unsatisfactory because of poor
ventilation. They were heated by a
wood-burning stove which smoked badly
because of a defective chimney, and lighted
by lamps which burned a kind of oil which
was used before the advent of kerosene.
Steps were immediately taken to procure new
quarters, but because of a lack of vacancies
all efforts to do so were in vain. Finally,
in August, 1860, the lodge did move to a
building occupied by the store of Phelps and
Harlow, which stood where Ace Sewing Center
is located today.
At the first meeting of the lodge on April
18, 1859, the first application for
membership was received from George e.
Evans, and after rehearsing the degrees for
a month under the coaching of E. Dana
Bancroft, they were successfully given to
the candidate.
During the first year fifty-one meetings
were held and thirteen new members were
enrolled.
When the year of working under dispensation
was ended, the Lodge received a charter from
the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, regularly
issued by the Grand Master, Winslow Lewis,
Jr., and it was constituted and consecrated
by Deputy Grand Master, J.H.V. Smith, and
the officers were installed by W.D.
Coolidge, Junior Grand Warden, on March 26,
1860. The name of the charter was changed to
Caleb Butler because it was thought to be
more appropriate than the first choice
[Caleb Butler, Esq., of Groton, served as
Grand Master of Massachusetts 1841-1842, and
was a Past Master of St. Paul Lodge of
Groton and later, Ayer].
In 1870 St. Paul Lodge of Groton used the
rooms of Caleb Butler Lodge on a trial
basis, rent free, and in 1872 they moved
permanently with the consent of Grand Lodge.
The two Lodges have lived together ever
since, sharing the expense of quarters
proportionately. At the installation banquet
in 1874 the following toast was proposed:
“To St. Paul Lodge; at once our Sister and
Mother lodge. We were nursed into existence
by some of her most prominent members.”
In 1872 a calamity struck. The entire north
side of Main Street was destroyed by a fire
which lasted for two days, April 13th and
14th. The lodge lost everything except the
charter and records, which were saved.
However, the Irish Benevolent Society came
to the rescue by offering to all the
fraternal organizations which were burned
out the use of its quarters in Cushing’s
Grain Store on the south side of the street,
rent free. Caleb Butler Lodge availed itself
of the offer, but as they had no
paraphernalia with which to work degrees,
they had to travel to Fitchburg, via the
Fitchburg R.R. to use the property of the
lodges there whenever occasion required. The
townspeople began at once to recoup their
losses, and when the Page Brothers elected
to build the Page Block, extending from
Washington Street to Pleasant Street, the
Masonic lodges and the Odd Fellows rented
the entire third floor, the Odd Fellows
taking the part to the west of the stairway
and the Masons to the east, with a banquet
hall used in common. This hall was used
until 1899, when the North Middlesex Savings
Bank built its new building where it stands
today. Both lodges of Masons engaged the
entire third floor of this new building and
have remained there ever since.
The first meeting of the lodge in its new
home was held on January 30, 1899. The hall
was dedicated jointly by Caleb Butler and
St. Paul with appropriate Masonic
ceremonies.
Since the dedication, other Masonic bodies
have become tenants; Bancroft Chapter, Royal
Arch Masons in 1901; Ida McKinley Chapter,
Order of the Eastern Star in 1904; Ayer
Chapter, Order of DeMolay in 1924; and just
this year the Order of Rainbow Girls.
During its existence, Caleb Butler Lodge has
had nearly 1900 members sign its bylaws.
They have in the course of time scattered to
all parts of the world because of the
distribution of the U.S. Army. Many, of
course, have died, withdrawn from
membership, or left the ranks through lack
of interest because, living at a distance,
they have been unable to keep in touch with
the lodge, and have joined other lodges
nearer their home.
Concerning more than one hundred years of
living much can be said, and it would take a
book of many pages to complete the story.
-- This history was taken from the Town of
Ayer Centennial Publication, printed in 1971
and presented at the celebration that took
place from June 20 – 26 of that year.. It
offers an interesting perspective of the
history of Caleb Butler Lodge. St. Paul
Lodge has since left and moved their
quarters to Ashby. Caleb Butler Lodge has
also moved, twice, first to the Pleasant
Street School where it was quartered for 10
years, and then to its’ present home, a
former church on Sculley Road. |
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Lodge Chartered: |
| Constituted 1859
Chartered 1860 |
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More Pictures: |
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