A New Lodge for Black Masons in Seattle
Prince Hall Lodge No. 2 is formally dedicated, marking a milestone for Seattle's Black community in 1892.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
At a special meeting of the Corner Stone Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Ancient York Rite Masons, colored, held on Tuesday night in the hall of John A. Mulligan Lodge, No. 1, a petition for a new lodge was granted. On Thursday evening, May 19, C. A. Rideout, R. W. D. Grand Master of Masons, dedicated and installed the officers for the new lodge, to be known as Prince Hall Lodge, No. 2, of Free and Accepted Masons, of the city of Seattle. The new officers included Alexander Z. Hester as Worshipful Master. Following the ceremony, members of John A. Mulligan Lodge and Prince Hall Lodge held a grand collation to celebrate the founding of the new body.
“After the dedication and installation was closed, the officers and members... had prepared a grand collation for the officers of the Corner Stone Grand Lodge, in which all brothers of the craft joined, and a grand time was enjoyed by all present.”
Prince Hall Masonry has a long history of providing social and civic infrastructure for Black communities in the U.S. when they were excluded from other organizations. This 1892 report captures a moment of community-building that established enduring institutional support for Seattle's Black citizens.
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