Freemasonry in Tucson
XXXXX XXXXX
SERP 545
University of Arizona
30 April 2013
XXX XXXXX, Ph.D
History of Tucson's First Masonic Lodge
The first meeting of Masons in Tucson for the purpose of discussing the formation of a Masonic Club took place on April 11, 1875; this was the beginning of a series of actions taken by some of Tucson's leading pioneers to build Tucson Lodge No. 4 (tucsonlodge4.homestead.com). The history of Tucson Lodge No. 4 and the history of Tucson are so interrelated that the names of many men famous for building the city are synonymous with those who built Tucson Lodge No. 4: at a meeting on July 1, 1875, the following were elected officers of the Tucson Masonic Club: A.C. Benedict, President; J.B. Creamer, Vice-President; George Roskruge, Secretary; J.S. Mansfeld, Treasurer; Chas. T. Etchells, Trustee; R.N. Leatherwood, Trustee; in April, 1881, Samuel Hughes was initiated as Entered Apprentice and became the first person elected and the first to be initiated by the Tucson Lodge; in October, 1881 the Tucson Lodge received its Charter from the Grand Lodge of California, as Tucson Lodge No. 263; a year later the Grand Lodge of Arizona was formed and the Tucson Lodge became Tucson Lodge No. 4 (tucsonlodge4.homestead.com). Sam Hughes was an important figure in Tucson during his lifetime and has a neighborhood and a school named after him.
The History of Scottish Rite Masonry in Tucson
The first organizational meeting was held on April 18, 1875, meetings were held at the Cosmopolitan Hotel (formerly the Orndorf) where ceremonies were held on the second floor, which subsequently became known as the Masonic Hall (tucsonscottishrite.org). Famed Mason Albert Pike presided at the meeting held on April 23, 1883 and the Lodge of Perfection was chartered on April 25, 1883; among those original members, Albert Stanfield, of Stanfields Department Stores, Morris Goldwater, and George Roskruge rode their horses from Prescott to be in...