By Jacque Hillman
Published in The Jackson Sun October 26, 2008
Look for members of the Jackson Masonic Lodge No. 45, F&AM - the real ones, not actors - to be dressed in gray cutaways and greeting actors portraying Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachel on Wednesday at the "Three Stars Collation and Frolicking Preview Party" at The Carnegie in downtown Jackson.
After the Food story ran about the upcoming event, I received an e-mail from Tom Lewis, a life member of Jackson Lodge No. 45, about the history behind Jackson's visit to Jackson.
He wrote that Andrew Jackson was grand master of Masons in Tennessee and that Lodge No. 45 was chartered during that time.
He also explained that the local chapter had Jackson's original grand master's apron. "The original, which was given to the Lodge by Jackson, was destroyed in the fire that destroyed the downtown building in the mid-'70s."
He said if I was interested, to call Mike Winslow, the lodge secretary.
So I did, and we had a great conversation about the history of Lodge No. 45.
Winslow, who's semi-retired, works with Jackson Madison County Emergency Management Agency as a project director. He worked with Thompson & Smith Insurance for many years.
Winslow said there's a book written by Lacy Price about the history of Jackson Masonic Lodge No. 45, which was founded on Oct. 6, 1823, he said.
"It was the first Masonic Lodge to be founded west of the Tennessee River, under the administration of Grand Master Andrew Jackson."
"We had feared that the original charter had been lost in the fire of 1979 which destroyed the old lodge off Baltimore Street in downtown Jackson. However, we did find the original charter with some fire damage, but we have it.
The Masonic apron worn by Andrew Jackson was destroyed. The lodge has a replica on display at the lodge and will have both the charter and apron on display Wednesday at the Carnegie Center.
Winslow said that in 1825, the Masons rode out to meet Gen. Jackson and his wife as they approached town in their carriage and to provide an honor escort into the town.
"We're going to meet him (the actor) at the curb at the Carnegie Center in full regalia and escort him into the building," Winslow said.
Because Jackson was running for office in 1823 and out campaigning, he had his deputy grand master sign the charter. In 1823, Jackson was the reigning grand master of the Tennessee Grand Lodge, the lodge over all the local lodges.
Winslow said the lodge has "handwritten minutes going back to the Civil War."
They have an archive room, opened in 2005, and they discovered "piles and piles of documents brought over from the old lodge." After the fire, members removed what they could and took the items to their homes. He speculated that some artifacts are probably still stored in attics around Jackson, that perhaps some members died and their descendants don't know what they have, or threw out some of the recovered items later on.
Winslow said Jack Woods of the Jackson-Madison County Library, in conjunction with the Tennessee Archives and the Genealogical Society of Salt Lake City, Utah, worked on a project to photograph and register the documents in the lodge archive.
"Just about all the founding fathers of Jackson were members of our lodge," Winslow said.
Marty Amick, president of the board of trustees and past master, said the current lodge, "is actually our third building. We had two fires."
Amick said the board of trustees' function is that "we maintain the building, the property and that sort of thing."
He pointed out that the 185-year-old charter hangs on the wall in the lodge.
The Masons hope to have at least eight members, some of the past worshipful masters of the lodge, on hand for the occasion.
Amick said Bobby Henderson of Jackson, past grand master, was actually head of all Masons in the state.
"Brasher's Tuxedo is outfitting us in as close to period as he's got. We'll wear a cutaway gray tuxedo coat that looks similar to what they would have worn in 1825," he said. "We're just glad to have the opportunity to participate."
