Prince Hall History
A Brief History of Prince Hall Freemasonry
On March 6, 1775, Prince Hall and 14 men of color were made Masons in Lodge #441 of the Irish Registry, attached to the 38th British Foot Infantry at Castle William Island in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts — the first time Black men were made Masons in America.
About a year later, as the conflict between England and America intensified, the British Foot Infantry left Boston, along with its lodge, leaving Prince Hall and his associates without a lodge. Before departing, Worshipful Master Batt gave them a “permit” to meet as a lodge and bury their dead in manner and form — though it did not allow them to do any Masonic work or take in new members. Under it, African Lodge was organized on July 3, 1776, with Prince Hall as Worshipful Master. The lodge later received an additional permit from Provincial Grand Master John Rowe to walk in procession on St. John’s Day.
On March 2, 1784, African Lodge #1 petitioned the Grand Lodge of England — the Premier or Mother Grand Lodge of the world — for a warrant to organize a regular Masonic lodge with all rights and privileges thereunto prescribed. The Grand Lodge of England issued a charter on September 29, 1784 to African Lodge #459, the first lodge of Blacks in America.
African Lodge #459 grew and prospered, and Worshipful Master Prince Hall was appointed a Provincial Grand Master in 1791, giving rise to the first Black Provincial Grand Lodge. In 1797, he organized a lodge in Philadelphia and one in Rhode Island, working under the charter of African Lodge #459.
In December 1808, one year after Prince Hall’s death, African Lodge #459 (Boston), African Lodge #459 (Philadelphia), and Hiram Lodge #3 (Providence) met in a general assembly and organized African Grand Lodge. In 1847, out of respect for their founding father and first Grand Master, they changed their name to Prince Hall Grand Lodge — the name it carries today. In 1848, Union Lodge #2, Rising Sons of St. John #3, and Celestial Lodge #4 became the first lodges organized under the Prince Hall Grand Lodge name.
From these beginnings, there are now some 5,000 lodges and 47 grand lodges that trace their lineage to the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Jurisdiction of Massachusetts.
The Louisiana Grand Lodge
African Lodge #459, following the custom of the day, became a Mother Lodge and granted warrants to lodges in Philadelphia and Providence. On June 24, 1791, African Lodge #459 called a general assembly of the Craft and organized the African Grand Lodge (later renamed Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts).
From lodges chartered by that Grand Lodge, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania was formed on December 27, 1815. Pennsylvania chartered Richmond Lodge in New Orleans on March 5, 1849. From lodges chartered by Pennsylvania, the Grand Lodge of Ohio was formed on May 3, 1849, and in June 1850, Richmond Lodge changed its allegiance to the Grand Lodge of Ohio.
The Grand Lodge of Louisiana was formed in 1863 by lodges chartered under the Grand Lodge of Ohio. A convention of Ancient York Masons met at the Hall of Richmond Lodge No. 4 in New Orleans on January 5, 1863, with representatives of Richmond Lodge No. 4, Stringer Lodge No. 11, and Parsons Lodge No. 18. The convention unanimously resolved that these three lodges constituted a Grand Lodge for the State of Louisiana, and by ballot elected its first Grand Officers, with Brother John Parsons as Grand Master.
In 1869, this Grand Lodge was incorporated by an Act of Legislature. Since its second meeting in 1864, it had been informally called “Eureka” to distinguish the White and Colored Lodges of Symbolic Masons in Louisiana. In 1944, the act of incorporation was amended so that, in honor of the founder of Masonry among Negroes in America, the Grand Lodge’s title became the “Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons of Louisiana” — the name it carries today.
Alsen Pride Lodge No. 253 operates under the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Louisiana and proudly carries on this legacy of service.