FREEMASONRY IN JERICHO

by Bro. Victor J. Stone, PhD

Freemasonry has a long and distinguished 140 year presence in the town of Jericho.  The Jericho Town Histories of 1913 and 1963 provide ample descriptions of the founding and flourishing of the Masonic Lodge, then known as MacDonough Lodge #26 F&AM and need not be repeated here.  The Freemasons of Jericho have been meeting at the Masonic Temple located at 64 VT Rte. 15 for the past 93 years.  The building, which was originally a Baptist church, was retrofitted for Masonic purposes and has over time served as a gathering place for a variety of Masonic affiliated organizations, various churches, Boy Scouts, Order of Eastern Star, amongst others.

In the 1970s and 1980s the Lodge prospered as new members were attracted from the influx of new Jericho residents that were associated with the expansion of the IBM Semiconductor Manufacturing Facility in Essex Junction, the growth of higher education in Chittenden County (UVM, Champlain College, and St. Michaels College), and the increase in businesses related to  the services economy.  These members found the fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons to be a wonderful platform for establishing connections within the community while participating in its charitable, benevolent, and educational programs.

During the 1990s and early 2000s the fraternity experienced a number of consolidations and mergers.  In 1996 MacDonough Lodge and Webster Lodge #61 of Colchester merged to create MacDonough-Webster Lodge #26.  In 2000, MacDonough-Webster merged with Warner Lodge #50 of Jeffersonville to form Mt. Mansfield Lodge #26.   More recently Ethan Allen Lodge #72 of Essex Junction joined with Mt. Mansfield Lodge.  In all cases, the newly reorganized Lodges maintained their base of operations in Jericho.

The Brothers of Mt. Mansfield Lodge have been a quiet yet persistent force for good in the community.  Various programs and projects such as awarding scholarships to college bound high school students, supporting local food shelves, serving breakfast and lunches at the annual Jericho Town Meeting, participating in town cleanup day, and partnering with the Underhill-Jericho Ecumenical Council to deliver hot Christmas meals to the disadvantaged or shut in members of our town have been rewarding and value adding pursuits.

Currently the Lodge has 146 members and is recognized as one of the premier Masonic Lodges in the State of Vermont.  It is capably led by Worshipful Master Rob Grandchamp, Senior Warden Dan O’Neil, and Junior Warden Rob Connelley.  The Lodge has had the distinct honor of having had three of its members elected to preside as Grand Masters of the Grand Lodge of Vermont: Bros. Philip W. Morton and Roger L. Crouse and Dr. Victor J. Stone (this is in addition to the three other Grand Masters from Jericho identified in the 1913 town history).  Needless to say, Masons from Jericho have had a strong governing influence on the State-wide masonic organization.  Additionally, Past Grand Master Victor Stone represented Jericho’s Mt. Mansfield Lodge and the Grand Lodge of Vermont as a guest of the United Grand Lodge of England at the 2017 celebration of 300 years of organized Freemasonry.

At present, Mt. Mansfield Lodge remains positioned to prosper and serve Jericho as it has done for close to one and half centuries.