Proud of its lineage, its
record of service to mankind, and its achievements, the history of
recorded Masonry in the City of Rome has prevailed unbroken for 213
years, and it is deeply rooted in a revolutionary origin.
The American Revolution for
Independence had scarcely ended when the humble beginnings of
Freemasonry was born in the township of Rome, New York. It was
a time when the country was new, the population scattered, and the
number of early settlers were few. Inspired by the spirit of
independence, and faith founded on the Great Light in Masonry, the
seed of speculative Masonry was firmly planted here. On
January 11, 1798 Steuben Lodge No. 54, signed a petition
recommending the issuance of a Masonic charter in Rome. This
petition was formally presented to the Grand Lodge of the State of
New York on March 7, 1798 along with the nomination of Hon. Joshua
Hatheway as Master of this new Lodge. Incidentally, this
distinguished gentleman was also the first Treasurer of the new
Oneida County founded that year. The charter was subsequently
granted to Roman Lodge No. 82 on February 13, 1799 under the seal of
Robert R. Livingston, who was both the Chancellor of the State of
New York and the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the New
York. This was in fact the first Masonic charter granted in
the new Oneida County. Past events did not play a role in the
mission of the Lodge other than to motivate members to forge a new
future for their families and the fraternity. They
acknowledged that while times were changing, and tracts of land were
evolving into villages and towns, Masonry would remain steadfast in
its principles and would continue to inspire new achievements.
Their fraternal strength and efforts have always been a broadening
and uplifting example of the spirit of brotherhood, fellowship, and
service to mankind. We in Roman-Hatheway Lodge are the
beneficiaries of their thoughts and actions.
Hon. Joshua Hathaway, the first Master of
Roman Lodge, was a graduate of Yale College, class of 1787. He
served in the American Revolution and participated as the first
major under General John Stark at the Battle of Bennington (Vermont)
in 1777. He also served in the War of 1812 as Quartermaster
General at Sacketts Harbor. He was for many years judge of the
court of common pleas, the surrogate court, and also served as Post
Master.
Prior to 1824 the Lodge had many
places to call home. Finally a building was erected in 1825 on
what became the southwest corner of N. Washington and W. Liberty
Streets. The upper floor was used as a lodge room and was
initially occupied on February 21, 1825. General Lafayette
visited Rome during that year and the name of Lafayette Hall was
applied to the new room until later changed to Masonic Hall.
Here the Lodge met until 1832 when the building title was passed to
the Zion Church.
During these intervening years, Roman
Lodge was a pivotal point in the central New York area for the
creation of several new Lodges. Under the penmanship of its
first Master, petitions were submitted in 1808 for Philanthropic
Lodge, Hampton Lodge No.198 in 1811, Farmers Lodge No. 214 in 1813,
and Farmers Friendship Lodge No. 420 in 1825. Leadership for
many of the new area Lodges including some of their Masters was also
furnished by Roman Lodge.
Roman Lodge members met irregularly during
the period of the Morgan Affair, when public sentiment against
Masonry was so intense. The Lodge began to recover during the
winter of 1850. On February 5, 1851a meeting was held in the
Odd Fellow Hall to sign a petition for re-issuance of the
charter. The new charter for Roman Lodge No. 223 was granted
on June 15, 1851.
Selden A. Emerson was the first Master
after restoration, and conducted the first official meeting of the
new Lodge in a building owned by Bro. Jesse Armstrong. Masons
met there until November 5, 1853 when a fire destroyed the building
along with the Lodge charter. So for the next three years, the
Lodge occupied the Odd Fellows Hall at 133 West Dominick St. until
June 24, 1856 when it moved into a set of rooms over the Fort
Stanwix Bank (now the Berkshires Savings Bank). It remained
there until February 14, 1870 when it again moved into a building
owned by Samuel B. Stevens, an active member of the Lodge since
1828. The dedication ceremony was held at the Masonic Hall on
February 14, 1871. Ten years later, on February 11, 1880 the
Rome Masonic Lodge again moved into rooms specially arranged for
Masonic purposes in the Gleasmann-Hower Block on the southwest
corner of Washington and West Dominick Street. Masonry
remained here until May 11, 1908 when it relocated to a new Masonic
Temple which had just been erected at 130 N. Washington
Street.
The 19th century for Masons in the Rome
area bowed out on a very positive note. Rome Masonry involved
with very special ceremonies associated with the laying of
cornerstones for some of the most important community architectural
developments in the area: in 1891 first Masonic Home in New York
State to be located in Utica; in 1894 the new City Hall; and in 1903
the new Federal Building in Rome.
On May 6th Masons gathered at their Temple
to honor a century of accomplishment and the prospects for a bright
and prosperous future for Freemasonry in Rome.
The dawn of a new century in Rome brought
with it a growing strength in Masonic membership that soon dictated
the need for new quarters. In 1905 Rome Masons purchased the
property at 130 North Washington Street, site of the former
Washington Street Opera House that was destroyed by fire. It
was officially opened in 1908. The following year on June 5th
a new and important development occurred in the Rome Masonic
family. At a Special Communication Hatheway Lodge No. 869 was
duly constituted with 27 charter members. The new Worshipful
Master was George T. Davis.
World War One changed the way many
Americans lived and worked. By 1920 people longed for calm and
wanted to preserve traditions by returning to a normal life.
This was the promise of the Roaring Twenties, the era of wonderful
nonsense. With the arrival of the Great Depression the lodge
did what was necessary to make a difference—to offer a sense of hope
desperately needed in the era of the Great
Depression.
Despite these efforts membership continued
on a downward path until, oddly enough, by 1942 it began to
substantially increase. Rallying behind the war effort, the
Rome Lodges dedicated the Masonic Recreation Building at the Rome
Air Depot. It served as a tribute to Masonic Brothers in the
armed services. Many Masons and their family members actively
donated to the Red Cross blood drives, war chest campaigns, and
local USOs.
Immediately following the end of World War
II, the Roman and Hatheway Lodges saw accelerated activity in
petitions, initiations, and other Masonic activities. Within the
next 8 years their memberships collectively would soar beyond 900
members.
Masonry in the 1960s was anything but
at a stand still. There were ground breaking ceremonies,
cornerstone dedications, charity drives, military members serving in
Viet Nam who would frequently write requesting donations for
children orphanages and rehabilitation programs, and the opportunity
to visit and experience the thrill and excitement of the World’s
Fair and the promises for a brighter tomorrow.
As the 1970s opened with Lodge
membership somewhat reduced from ten years earlier, the Lodge was
officially informed that its vibrant home would be slated for
demolition under the downtown Federal Urban Renewal Program.
It is well to remember that the address of 130 North Washington
Street was home to Freemasonry fore 64 fruitful years. In 1971
the new home for Rome Masonry became the Bethel Presbyterian Church
at 620 N. Washington St. that was recently gutted by a fire earlier
on June 3rd.
The 1980s opened with the call for a
return to traditional American values. There was extensive
praise of family, loyalty, civic virtues, and patriotism.
However valiant these efforts appear to have been, mixed in with
this upbeat mood was the continued decrease in Masonic
membership. Yet the Masonic ideal of civic and charitable
works continued in the Lodges without noise or fuss. Members
were active supporters and workers in community services such as the
Red Cross blood donor programs, Polio Foundation, Multiple Sclerosis
Society, special employee worker relief programs, refugee relief
programs, aid to worthy distressed Masons and their families, little
league, the Masonic Research Laboratory, and Shriners’ hospital
programs but to name a few. This noble spirit was expanded to
include new and unique benevolent endeavors such as the Oneida
County Masonic Child Photo Identification Program, Heart Fund,
American Cancer Society, Association for the Blind, Oneida County
Special Olympics Program for developmentally disadvantaged children,
and the Rome Salvation Army bell ringing.
With the advent of the 1990s, and as
the final curtain was preparing its descent on the 20th century,
still newer activities caught the twinkle of the Rome Masonic eye
such as the Rome Drug and Alcohol Prevention Program, acquisition of
a K-9 dog patrol, a new police bike patrol, acquisition and posting
of “drug free zone” signs for various public schools, and a host of
other technologically new programs. On numerous occasions the
Lodge invited the Rome Police Department to address members on these
various programs and related matters. And the Lodge would
respond very generously with notable contributions at the conclusion
of these presentations.
The arrival of 1995 heralded a new age for
Rome Masonry brought about by the merger of Roman and Hatheway
Lodges which subsequently became known as Roman-Hatheway Lodge No.
223. This merger was in part an effort to stem waning
membership and attendance resulting from the combined effects of the
closure of Griffiss AFB, continuing decrease in local area
population, and the aging of membership. The ensuing years
witnessed a decline in membership, the sale of the lodge hall, and a
new resurgence in membership as the lodge charted a new direction in
the 21st century.
With the benefit of historical perspective,
we have the opportunity to review the end results of many past
endeavors without the presumption that matters should have been
accomplished differently. Looking back at the defining War of
1812, the grim days of the Morgan Affair from the mid-1820’s through
the 1840’s and the obsession of the anti-Masonic movement, the Civil
War and deaths of more than 600,000 soldiers, the Reconstruction
period when the Federal government restored seceded states to the
Union, economic growth and depression between the 1870s and 1890s,
the harshness of the Great Depression f the 1930s, and the social
unrest and many wars that characterized the twentieth century, the
1960s and 1970s with its anti-establishment attitudes and distrust
for organized groups, stock market crash of 1987, closure of
Griffiss AFB in 1996, the Great Financial Crisis (Recession) of
2007-2010, a collapse of the ‘housing bubble” in 2007-08 that
witnessed unprecedented property foreclosures, and the minimal
economic development in the Rome-Utica corridor, we can agree that
the principles and tenets of Freemasonry in Rome have withstood the
over-whelming test of time.
There are several reasons why Freemasonry
in Rome survived these challenging moments in history. First
and foremost was adherence to the beliefs and traditions of
Freemasonry. Second, lodge membership was by choice.
Members were guided by their “own free will and accord.”
Third, the internal structure of the craft (rules and customs)
helped avoid political strife. And fourth, the tradition of
Freemasonry in Rome was a formidable part of the community
fabric. Freemasonry in Rome was found to have maintained
a continuing relevance to men of all backgrounds, religions, and age
groups who have a sincere interest in improving themselves, forming
meaningful friendships and being useful to those around them.
Inside contemporary Roman-Hatheway Lodge, little has changed for
these 213 years. It has and continues to remain a place of
ancient rites of passage and ritual, a well-worn path filled with
doubt and discovery. In its simplest form, the Masonic family
in Rome provides its members a haven of true brotherhood and
protection from the rage around it. Although a far cry from
the days when members journeyed on horseback from great distances to
a Masonic meeting in Rome, Free Masonry in Rome continues to bring
people together in major new ways designed to transact business,
maintain the familiarity of personal relationships, and enjoy a rich
heritage of Freemasonry.
