Owens Lodge No. 164, A.F. & A.M.

                                                               Norfolk, Virginia

Owens Lodge No. 164 was chartered on December 11, 1867. It was formed by thirty-five Masons, some of which had served as Worshipful Master of other Lodges in the Norfolk area.

The following officers were installed on June 24, 1868:

            Thomas F. Owens                   Worshipful Master

Samuel P. Moore                     Senior Warden

Walter H. Taylor                     Junior Warden.

This Lodge was named for its first Worshipful Master, Thomas F. Owens. Two years later, in 1869, this Brother was elected Grand Master of Masons in Virginia. Prior to his election as Worshipful Master, Most Worshipful Brother Owens had served as Worshipful Master of Norfolk Lodge No. 1 and Atlantic Lodge No. 2.

During the period of reconstruction following the Civil War, this Lodge grew at a slow and steady pace, averaging four or five members each year. Membership at the beginning of World War I was 170.

After World War I, the membership grew at a more rapid rate, and during the period from 1919 to 1921, 109 new members were raised. Another of its Past Masters, W. W. Gault, was elected Grand Master of Masons in Virginia in 1920. The Lodge continued to grow until about 1961 and has slowly declined in membership since then.