webmaster's note:  this short history of the Lodge was found in the archives of the Lodge and was written just after the Lodge's 150th Anniversary celebration in 1951. 

PUTNAM  LODGE  #46  AF&AM

By Bro. Harold D. Carpenter

Written in 1954

            This Lodge was chartered 21 August, 1801, and instituted at Pomfret the same year on 2 October.  The jurisdiction of the Lodge then extended over the greater part of the northern half of Windham County, which is the northeastern part of Connecticut.

            The first Worshipful Master was Lemuel Grovesnor, a Revolutionary War soldier and son-in-law of Major General Israel Putnam, from whom the Lodge took its name.

            There were, in early times, four Regular Communications a year, held on the first Wednesday of the months of February, May, September, and November.  These meetings were in the daytime, all three degrees being frequently worked; dinners were served to the brethren and “horse-battings” was an item appearing on the old bills.  In keeping with the custom of the times, the use of rum, wine, and brandy was quite prevalent.  An early by-law, however, cautioned the brethren that drinking to excess would be a cause for Masonic Discipline.  The widespread Temperance Reforms of the mid-1820’s brought out from time to time votes of abstinence, but it was not until about 1850 that the use of liquor was entirely ended.

            The Lodge met at various tavern houses and hotels in the towns of Pomfret, Woodstock, and Killingly until nearly 1860, when it became the custom to hire a hall by the year.  One of the most popular meeting places was the famous Turnpike Tavern in Pomfret.  This house is still well preserved.  Since 1867, all Regular Communications have been in Woodstock, held in different halls until 1923, when the Lodge purchased its present home.  This building was known as “Fenner’s Hall,” and had been used a number of years for Masonic purposes.  It was moved a short distance from where it stood by the mill pond to its present location.  The noise of the water rushing over the dam was, in previous years, a source of much annoyance.  Committees appointed to investigate the matter found no way of alleviating the nuisance.  The solution was to move the building.

            It was not until February 1876 that it was voted to hold the Stated Communications the Saturday on or before the full of the moon.  For some time previous, there had been 12 meetings a year, all in the evening, but for the accommodation of elderly brethren and those who lived at a distance, it was voted that the Quarterly Meetings (March, June, September, and December) should be in the daytime.  The Lodge has not since deviated from that schedule.

            For the first half century, the Festival of St. John the Baptist, held on the 24^th of June, was a gala celebration.  A parade with fife and drum, a sermon, and a lengthy oration, followed by a “bountiful repast” and a business meeting of the Lodge rounded out a full day.  The custom began to decline during the 1800’s and ceased entirely, not to be resumed, until 1910 when it was observed in the quiet fashion of the present time.

            The troublesome anti-Masonic period of the late 1820’s and the 1830’s was a sore trial to adhering Masons.  Putnam Lodge, more fortunate perhaps than some other Lodges, survived the storm, holding its regular meetings and electing officers each year in open defiance of its enemies.  Anti-Masonic conventions were held at Woodstock Hill, adhering Masons were expelled from the Church, and Reverend and Brother Ralph S. Crampton was dismissed from his pastorate for his refusal to renounce Masonry.  The furors gradually abated, probably hastened by the poor showing made by the Anti-Masonic Party’s candidate, William Wirt, in the Presidential Election of 1832.  Tradition tells us that the anti-Masons considered using force to abolish Putnam Lodge.  The faithful brethren showed their contempt for their enemies by meeting in conspicuous places and advertising the meetings in the newspapers.

            There were other problems of a vexatious nature which caused some trouble.  One of these arose from the custom of accepting personal notes from candidates who lacked the necessary cash.  The sum of $17.75 was required for the deposit and the three degrees.  As time went on and more notes were added, it became increasingly difficult to collect the monies due the lodge.  Civil actions were threatened, and in one case a warrant was issued to put a delinquent member in “Windham Gaol” until his debt was paid.  The man departed to parts unknown and was not apprehended.  It was probably with a sigh of relief that the Lodge voted, in 1851, that no more notes would be issued, only the actual cash would be accepted.

            The dues every member was supposed to pay at each meeting varied from time to time as the Lodge voted.  Sometimes 25¢, others 50¢.  Clergymen were excused from paying dues.  Sometimes brethren had the habit of slipping out unnoticed by the Secretary and corrective measures had to be taken.  About the year 1875 it was voted to have yearly dues of $2.00.

            Putnam Lodge has a ritual of its own, differing somewhat in detail from the standard work of Connecticut.  Tradition says it came from MW Brother Thomas Smith Webb, first Grand Master of Masons in Rhode Island.  It is quite probable that some of the work can be ascribed to A System of Speculative Masonry by Brother Salem Towne of Granville, New York.  Whatever its origin, the ritual has been handed down from generation to generation by the instructive tongue, without the use of monitors.  One distinguishing feature about the records of early Lodges is their brevity. Nothing was committed to paper unless it was deemed necessary.  We are therefore left in the dark as regards the truth of some of the traditions.

            The Lodge has in its possession a sword, generally believed to have been carried by General Putnam at the Battle of Bunker Hill.  The only tangible proof is the testimony of one of his grand-daughters, a Mrs. Coit, and an old letter written by another descendant.  As nearly as can be ascertained, the sword was presented to the Lodge by Lemuel P. Grovesnor, a son of the first Master, about the year 1840.  The Lodge records are silent on the matter.  The jewels used by the officers are said to have been made from coin silver by a local silversmith soon after the Lodge was founded.  In this case too, there is no mention made of the jewels in the oldest records.

            In the case of a century and a half, there have been good times and bad, but through them all, the Lodge has been active.  One notable milestone was the Centennial Celebration of August 21, 1901.  Another was the Sesquicentennial affair of September 15, 1951.