Freemasonry has been part of the Town of Hinesburg since 1802, and the Masonic Lodge at the corner of Silver Street and Route 116 has been its home since 1942. The town and lodge have shared a long history, and many of the town's leading citizens have participated in the good works of the lodge. Patriot Lodge has long been a center of activity, and the present building serves as a meeting place for the Masons and the Order of the Eastern Star as well as the site of the Hinesburg Nursery School.

Starting in 1802 Friendship Lodge #20 of Charlotte held half of its meetings in Hinesburg and half in Charlotte, and then in 1825 Hinesburg's Masons received a charter for a lodge of their own, Patriot Lodge No. 63. Jonathan Batchelder was master of Patriot Lodge #63 in 1827, and in 1829 the Patriot's officers were: Erastus Bostwick, master; Daniel Patrick, Jr., senior warden; and Orren Murray, junior warden.

It was at this time that Masonry became the target of a political inquisition. Members were tarred as elitist or un-American by the Anti-Mason political party, and in 1832 the Anti-Mason presidential candidate carried Vermont. They were later replaced by the Know-Nothings who added all non-Anglo-Saxons to their list of undesirables. Lodge membership in Vermont declined during the hysteria, and Hinesburg's Masons met at member's homes.

#33

In 1853 Hinesburg's lodge was reorganized, and Daniel Patrick was installed as the first master of the new lodge bearing the number "33." The next year, Hinesburg's postmaster Ernest Gibb leased the top floor of his building to the Masons for their meetings. This building stood across the street from the present-day lodge in the memorial park and was the lodge's home for at least the next ten years.

The charter members of Patriot Lodge #33 were; Daniel Patrick, Orrin Murray, Marvin Leonard, John Wheelock, John S. Patrick, David Frazer, Daniel Patrick, Jr., Bateman Sterns, Oscar C. Burritt, Royal Bell, Joel Turrell, John Brinsden. The charter was dated 12 January 1854.

Thirty-five members of Patriot Lodge served in the Civil War, and by 1866 the lodge held its meetings on the upper floor of the brick building, across from and just north of the present-day United Church on Route 116 in town. That year, the lodge installed an ornate English carpet, purchased from a lodge in Washington, DC.

In the 1870's membership hovered between 116 to 127 members, and in the 1880's and 1890's around 90. From 1900 through the 1950's there were anywhere from 101 to 130 members of Patriot Lodge #33. To make travel to meetings over dark country roads easier our meetings were held on the "Friday preceeding the full moon of each month" until 1881.

In the early years of this century the lodge's stewards served suppers in the dining room before the meetings, and on November 5, 1915 they served an oyster supper. In the minutes of the June 15, 1916 meeting the secretary duly noted that ice cream and cigars were available at Brother Clayton Lucia's ice cream parlor for refreshment afterward.

The lodge's bonds of friendship and service were exceedingly strong in the case of Brother Cornelius Peters. From 1893 through 1921 Brother Peters served as Tyler of the lodge, that is he was the doorman. When Peters died in 1922 having been a member of Patriot Lodge #33 for 37 years, and the lodge provided a funeral and last rites at his family's request.

In 1942 the Congregational Church donated its land and building at the intersection of Route 116 and Silver Street to Patriot Lodge for a lodge of their own. The original building and the 1866 carpet were destroyed by fire in November 1950, and the present Masonic Temple was rebuilt on the site of the old. Brother Robert Francis supervised the work starting in August 1952, and the first meeting was held in the uncompleted building on March 6, 1953. The Most Worshipful Grand Master F. Ray Adams formally dedicated the temple on October 13, 1954.

Over the years the charity of Patriot Lodge has benefited a number of local organizations and groups, including scholarships to high school students, an annual Christmas party for the children of the Hinesburg Nursery School and the use of our facilities by a variety of causes.

Like all lodges of the world's oldest fraternal organization, Patriot has invited good men of all faiths to join with them in promoting the "Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man." Our goal has always been to bring good men together and to make them better in order to enhance their ability to contribute to the well-being of their community, state and nation.

Anyone desiring to participate in this very worthwhile organization merely has to express his interest to a Freemason. The members of Patriot Lodge are always ready to welcome more good men to our fellowship.

1997 is a special year for Hinesburg's Patriot Lodge. This year our brother Ed Wildblood will be installed as the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the State of Vermont, in effect overseeing all the lodges of the state. In addition three other members of Patriot Lodge will serve at the state level, marking the first time one lodge has contributed so many members to the Grand Lodge of the State of Vermont.

Recently, the lodge deeded its land and building to the Town of Hinesburg in return for a 50 year lease on the building due to a gap between the lodge's meager income and its property taxes. The lease allows Hinesburg's lodge to continue its proud tradition for many years to come.

If you can add any information, stories or anecdotes, or have any papers, books or pictures relating to Patriot Lodge #33 or Masonry in general and would like to share them, please post me.