Delete comment from: Boston 1775
Freemasons were heavily involved in the ceremony to begin building the Bunker Hill Monument in 1825. There were Masonic trowels and aprons involved, I recall.
Freemasonry certainly claims Lafayette, but apparently there's no definite evidence of when or where he joined the movement. However, his name appears on Masonic documents starting from 1775. In 1825 he was on an extended tour of the U.S. of A. to avoid the high cost of living in Paris, I understand. The American people were delighted to have such a major figure of the Revolution coming to so many ceremonies, but the marquis might have shown up for the opening of an envelope.
Freemasons in Boston had built a monument to Dr. Joseph Warren on the Bunker Hill battlefield after the war was over. He had been the head of the St. Andrew's Lodge in town when he died. I believe the base of that pillar is still displayed at the current obelisk's site.
In the decade after work started on the Bunker Hill Monument, the Anti-Masonic Party flourished briefly in Northeast politics. That might have contributed to a slowdown in the building. The monument wasn't completed until 1842, and my impression is that Freemasonry wasn't so prominent in the dedication ceremony.
Jun 14, 2007, 11:05:00 AM