African American Masonic lodges

Title

Subject

Community

Description

These are newspaper clippings about African American Masonic lodges in Florence.

(1) Florence historian Lee Freeman notes: "Centennial Lodge No. 19 was the black lodge of Freemasons in Florence. We don't know when it was founded nor its exact address (only that it was located somewhere on Court Street and by the 1959 had moved to Washington Street in West Florence) but by 1888 black Florence barber Constantine T. "Constant" Perkins, Sr. (1842-1908) was Worshipful Master; by 1898 cobbler and grocer Jacob "Jake" Wytch (1848-1927) was Worshipful Master and by August of 1905 Wytch was again WM. In 2015 Alva Crowson was Worshipful Master. Centennial Lodge was active through the late 19th century down to today. The Watcher was Florence's black newspaper which was published in 1888-1889."

(2) Florence historian Lee Freeman notes: "Centennial Lodge No. 19 hosts a picnic in Cedar Park (prob. what is now Wilson Park) however their expected guests from Chattanooga and other points do not arrive."

Source

The Watcher (1)
The Florence Banner (2)

Date

1888-11-02 (1)
1890-09-04 (2)

Contributor

Lee Freeman

Rights

Images are available for educational and research purposes. This image may not be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express written consent of the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of the interested party to identify the copyright holder and receive permission.

Format

JPG

Language

English

Type

Still Image

Identifier

Masonic1.jpg (1)
coloredmasons1.jpg (2)

Original Format

Newspaper

Files

Collection