Niagara Lodge No 2 in Niagara

On this Wednesday evening, Jan 15, I drove down to Grimsby to meet RWBro Mark Kapitan at his home, and then together we travelled down the road to visit the brethren of Niagara Lodge No. 2 to watch a happy young man enjoy receiving his First Degree and become an Entered Apprentice - joining the other two EAs in the lodge on this evening. Prior to the lodge opening, being gratefully received and watching the ceremony, and as the members gathered, we took the time for a tour of the museum in the building, adorned with a lot of mementos and displaying the historic impact of its members over the 200+ years of activity in the community.


The members of the lodge were well-practiced for the ceremony and certainly well-prepared for the evening, and deserved the accolades accorded them by the visiting DDGM and his District Secretary, and the Festive Board afterwards (downstairs in the Art Gallery) featured a wonderful pot of meatballs, accompanying friendly and informative conversation, capping a great evening of Freemasonry.

In terms of the building's history, according to WBro (Lieutenant Colonel) Bernard L. Nehring: "A 1791 District of Nassau Land Board meeting at Niagara resolved to "authorize a public house" on the corner lot at the east end of the town ...and a Mason's lodge on the next lot to it. This was Lot 33 at the northwest corner of King and Prideaux Streets.The original Freemason's Hall was ready for Simcoe's first Legislature of Upper Canada in 1792. It also served as a church, court of justice, public meeting place and ball room. The original building was torched by the retreating American Army, December 10, 1813.

The building on 153 King Street was begun in 1816 but not by the Freemasons. It has been used as a private school, dancing academy, a boarding house, a store, Miller's Tavern and in the 1830-1840's a soldiers' barracks. From 1860 on, Niagara Lodge No.2 rented the upper rooms finally regaining the original site and building by purchase on February 27, 1877."

The Colin K. Duquemin Masonic Museum was named in 2007 after Bro. Colin Duquemin for his work in preserving masonic past. It is home to many artifacts from Niagara district, including regalia, books, certificates, and masonic documents.

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