Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22

Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, A.F. & A.M. is the senior Masonic lodge of Alexandria, Virginia. It was originally constituted in 1783 under a Pennsylvania charter as Alexandria Lodge No. 39 and rechartered on April 28, 1788 under the newly formed Grand Lodge of Virginia as Alexandria Lodge No. 22, with George Washington Person George Washington b. 1732 · d. 1799 Planter, military commander, and first President of the United States. Master of Mount Vernon from 1761 until his death in 1799, and a regular presence in Alexandria, which he … serving as the first Worshipful Master under the Virginia charter. After Washington’s death the lodge added his name to its title and has operated continuously to the present day under the name Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 ^[1] Source 1 Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 — "AW22 History" Website .

Custodian of the Washingtoniana

After Washington’s death at Mount Vernon in December 1799, his personal Masonic objects — including the apron embroidered for him by the Marquise de Lafayette, the silver trowel he had used to lay the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol in 1793, his Masonic Bible, ceremonial regalia, and extensive correspondence — were entrusted to the Alexandria lodge by his family and by surviving lodge brothers. Over the nineteenth century the lodge built up the largest single collection of Washington personal artifacts in existence and operated one of the earliest American museums on the upper floor of the 301 King Street Place 301 King Street Alexandria's seat of municipal government, market house, and — for most of the nineteenth century — the lodge hall and museum of , which kept the country's largest private … and Market House at 301 King Street ^[1] Source 1 Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 — "AW22 History" Website .

The 1825 Lafayette reception

On February 21, 1825, the lodge — joined by Brooke Lodge No. 2 and Evangelical Lodge No. 8 — formally received the Marquis de Lafayette Person Marquis de Lafayette b. 1757 · d. 1834 French general, American Revolutionary War officer, lifelong friend of , and one of the most celebrated foreign visitors in Alexandria's history. During his 1824–25 American grand … as part of a joint celebration of Washington’s birthday during Lafayette’s American grand tour. The Master of the lodge presented Lafayette with a diploma of honorary membership. Lafayette in turn presented the lodge with the great iron key to the Bastille, ten inches long and more than five pounds, that he had once sent to Washington at Mount Vernon. The key remains on permanent display at the 101 Callahan Drive Place 101 Callahan Drive A 333-foot granite tower atop Shuter's Hill, completed 1932 by Freemasons across the United States to honor as Charter Master of . Conceived after an 1871 fire at the lodge's Old … museum ^[2] Source 2 City of Alexandria — "Lafayette in Alexandria" Government record ^[3] Source 3 Grand Lodge of New York — "Marquis de Lafayette's Apron" Website .

The 1871 fire and the movement for a memorial

On May 19, 1871, fire swept through the King Street City Hall complex that housed the lodge. Members managed to rescue most of the Washington artifacts and a significant share of the lodge’s records, but much of the museum’s natural-science and art collections was lost ^[4] Source 4 Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 — "From the Archives: Witness Account of the 1871 Lodge Fire" Website . The fire was the catalyst for a half-century national movement that would ultimately produce the 101 Callahan Drive Place 101 Callahan Drive A 333-foot granite tower atop Shuter's Hill, completed 1932 by Freemasons across the United States to honor as Charter Master of . Conceived after an 1871 fire at the lodge's Old … on Shuter’s Hill as a permanent, fireproof shrine to Washington’s Masonic life.

Adolf Cluss — the Washington-area architect who later designed the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building — was selected to rebuild the City Hall, and the lodge returned to its King Street rooms in 1874. The lodge remained on King Street until the Memorial was ready, then moved to its permanent rooms on Shuter’s Hill at the 1932 dedication, where it continues to meet today.