Dinwiddie Lodge No. 136, A.F. & A.M.

                                                             Dinwiddie, Virginia

It is not known which individuals are due the honor of the first efforts to establish the present Lodge known as Dinwiddie Lodge No. 136. There were a number of members of the fraternity residing in Dinwiddie County near the Courthouse or in the present McKenney and Darville area prior to 1874, most of whom were members of Blandford Lodge No. 3 and Petersburg Lodge No.  15, located in the city of Petersburg. Consequent to the slow means of travel, the unimproved roads, which in the winter months were either bottomless quagmires or frozen ruts, the many miles necessary for them to travel, and the time required, made it almost impossible for them to attend Lodge on a regular basis. It is therefore reasonable to believe that the desire for a Lodge more conveniently located had existed for some time before the efforts were started.

During June 1874, a request for dispensation to establish a Lodge at Dinwiddie Court house was presented to the Grand Master of Masons in Virginia. In compliance with Masonic Law, the nearest Lodge was required to approve the request before it could be approved. At a stated communication held on June 9, 1874, Blandford Lodge No. 3 unanimously approved the request and recommended that the new Lodge be instituted.

On June 19, 1874, dispensation was granted by the Grand Master of Masons in Virginia for a Lodge as requested. The first regular communication of Dinwiddie Lodge, U. D. was held in the Courthouse Building at Dinwiddie Courthouse on Friday, August 21, 1874. The Worshipful Master, Henry Clemmins stated that the District Deputy Grand Master was sick and Worshipful J. L. Cook Past Master of Petersburg Lodge No. 15 had been appointed to constitute the Lodge. A committee was appointed to produce a set of bylaws, which were adopted by the Lodge.

All the necessary requirements having been accomplished, Most Worshipful William B. Taliafereo, Grand Master of Masons in Virginia, ordered a charter to be issued in the name of Dinwiddie Lodge No. 136 on December 15, 1874. A special communication was held on February 19, 1875. Right Worshipful R. H. Jones, Jr., District Deputy Grand Master and Worshipful J. L. Cook, Past Master of Petersburg Lodge No. 15 installed the officers as follows:

Henry Cousins                                    Worshipful Master

John Y. Yates                         Senior Warden

E. C. Powell                            Junior Warden.

After several years of searching for a suitable building for a meeting place, Brother John Y. Harris, a Past Master of this Lodge, offered one acre of land at the southwest corner of his lot upon which to erect a hall. Minutes of the March 2, 1880, stated communication describe in full the complete detail of the agreement of acceptance of the land. Shortly after that meeting, funds were obtained and construction was started on the building. On Saturday, October 16, 1880, at a special communication, Blandford Lodge No. 3 dedicated the hall erected by this Lodge and the facility has been in use since that time. It was remodeled and enlarged in 1953.

A great loss to Dinwiddie Lodge was recorded on the death of Worshipful Brother John Y. Harris on March 1, 1921. Brother Harris was one of the charter members of this Lodge and his contributions were instrumental in holding the Lodge together during more than forty years of trying times. On December 17, 1923, Worshipful Brother A. T. Powell died and was buried with Masonic Rites on the day following in Good Shepherd Church cemetery. Worshipful Brother Powell was the last of the “Thin Gray Line,” the last member of the Lodge who had followed the Stars and Bars. He was also a charter member of this Lodge. The last charter member of this Lodge died on August 5, 1929. Worshipful Brother R. T. J. Spain was in his seventy-eighth year and had served this Lodge for more than fifty-four years. Brother Spain was Worshipful Master in 1879-80 and again thirty-seven years later in 1916.

This Lodge has laid several cornerstones for public buildings in the community. These include: Manson Methodist Church on July 20, 1891; Church of the Good Shepherd, August 30, 1893; Dinwiddie County High School, May 5, 1939.

Most Worshipful C. D. Freeman Grand Master of Masons in Virginia was the first Grand Master to visit this Lodge and did so on October 10, 1941, in the gymnasium of Dinwiddie County High School

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