As every Freemason knows, one of the major joys of being a Mason is the privilege to travel. Even though I was not able to set in a lodge meeting while here I took the opportunity to stop in the Grand Lodge and say hello. What I thought would
be a short friendly meeting turned into an all-out history nerd out session. Huge thanks to Scot, the Grand Secretary that doubles as one hell of a Grand Historian as well. He blew my mind with their artifact collection and his knowledge behind them all. Also got to tour the Egyptian room which was equally amazing. Very thankful for his kindness and Brotherly love to take time out of his day to nerd out with me!
Interestingly enough, for those familiar with my presentation on the Genealogy of Kansas Masonry, Colorado Masonry holds immediate ties to Kansas. The 1850s, pioneers were prospecting for gold in the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Among them were seven Freemasons: Dr. Levi Russell, Henry Allen, W.M. Slaughter, Oscar Lehow, Andrew Sagendorf, J.D. Ramage, and Charles Blake. These men held the first Masonic meeting in the Colorado territory on November 3, 1858. A year later, these men received a dispensation from the Grand Lodge of Kansas to meet as Aruaria Lodge in the frontier town of Denver. In 1861, the Lodge was re-chartered as Denver Lodge № 5. The second lodge in Colorado, Golden City Lodge was also originally chartered by the Grand Lodge of Kansas in October of 1860.
On August 2, 1861 Golden City Lodge, Summit Lodge, and Rocky Mountain Lodge met to form the Grand Lodge of Colorado. This was almost 15 years before Colorado would join the Union as the “Centennial State”.
-AGP