HISTORY OF THE ARIZONA PRINCE HALL MASONS

Prince Hall Masonry in Arizona had its beginning on 29 November 1899 when the Colorado Grand Lodge issued a dispensation for the formation of a Lodge in Tucson, Arizona Territory. On 5 December 1899, Alpha Lodge No.17 was formed with Fourteen Master Masons present. The first Worshipful Master was Bro. R.H. Green. The remaining officers were Senior Warden J.D. Johnson, Junior Warden Bro. S.N. Ledille, Secretary, Bro. C. Emery and Tyler Bro. Thomas Grant. On January 29, 1900, the Colorado Grand Lodge again issued a dispensation authorizing twelve Master Masons to open a Lodge in Clifton, Arizona. This Lodge became known as Compass Lodge No.18, the three principal officers being Worshipful Master I.H. Mays, Senior Warden Clarence Morgan and Junior Warden George W. Gravely.

On that same date he also issued a special dispensation authorizing twenty Master Masons to open and hold meetings in Phoenix, Arizona. This Lodge became known as Maricopa Lodge No.16 and had as its principal 
officers Worshipful Master G.W. Caldwell, Senior Warden Bro. Fred Gardiner, and Junior Warden Bro. Allen Smith. 

On June 20th, Delta Lodge No.20 was formed, again under the auspices of the Colorado Grand Lodge, with the principal officers being Worshipful Master F.D. McClanahan. For nearly twenty years Prince Hall Masonry flourished in Arizona with Lodges formed under the Jurisdiction of Colorado, Missouri and Texas.

On January 6th, 1920, a committee of three was formed in Maricopa Lodge No.16 and charged with communicating with all Prince Hall Lodges in Arizona to determine the feasibility of forming a Grand Lodge. Simultaneously the committee queried the Arizona Corporation Commission to determine the requirements for incorporating a new Grand Lodge.

In February 1920, a positive reply was received from the Corporation Commission and the Committee had also received several responses from other Lodges acknowledging their interest in forming a Grand Lodge. As A result, a meeting was held on April 5th, 1920, with representatives of Maricopa lodge No.16, Colorado Jurisdiction, Salt Valley Lodge No.412, Jurisdiction of Texas, and the authority of Thumb Butte Lodge No.14, Colorado Jurisdiction. The purpose of the meeting was to issue a call for an organizational meeting to form a Prince Hall Grand Lodge in the State of Arizona. 
 

Such a meeting was held on May 3rd, 1920, in Phoenix, Arizona, with representatives of the following Lodges in attendance:

Compass Lodge No.18, Clifton-Colorado Jurisdiction
Olympia Lodge No.147, Douglas-Missouri Jurisdiction
Granite Lodge No.434, Prescott-Texas Jurisdiction
Maricopa Lodge No.16, Phoenix-Colorado Jurisdiction
Thumb Butte Lodge No.14, Prescott-Colorado Jurisdiction
Salt Valley Lodge No.412, Phoenix-Texas Jurisdiction
Golden Billow Lodge No.447, Globe-Texas Jurisdiction
West Temple Lodge No.425, Tucson-Texas Jurisdiction

The Most Worshipful Sovereign Grand Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons of Arizona and Jurisdiction, Inc., (Prince Hall Affiliation) was formerly constituted and chartered under that name until 1952 when the Grand Lodge name was changed to The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge F. & A.M. Arizona and Jurisdiction, Inc. Seven of the above Lodges became Charter Lodges of the Jurisdiction with West Temple Lodge No.425 declining the opportunity for membership. The constituent Lodges were numbered sequentially in order of their seniority. The Charter Grand Lodge Officers were:

Most Worshipful Grand Master-Bro. G.W.Caldwell
RW Deputy Grand Master-Bro. Belford Taylor
RW Senior Grand Warden-Bro. W.D. Alexander
RW Junior Grand Warden-Bro. Daniel Roberts
RW Grand Secretary-Bro. C. Credille
RW Grand Treasurer-Bro. Jacob Tull
RW Grand Lecturer-Bro. S.E. Newell

These officers were administered the oath of their office by Past Master I.W. Hayes, the elder Master Mason in the Jurisdiction at the time.