Dupont Lodge No. 289, A.F. & A.M.

                                                              Hopewell, Virginia

World War I was in full progress; America had not entered the war, but had definitely made her position clear that her sympathies were with the Allies. Here, in Hopewell, Dupont de Nemours and Co., Inc. had built an enormous manufacturing plant producing dynamite and gunpowder for Russia and Great Britain. It drew its labor forces from the various parts of the country. The men who composed this great influx of labor were men of many nationalities.  It was natural that with a large labor group moving into Hopewell, there would be included many men who were Masons who had left their home Lodges. 

With a large number of Masons in Hopewell, it was only a matter of time before someone would take it upon themselves to do something about organizing a Masonic Lodge. 

The first organized meeting of Masons in Hopewell was held on August 7, 1916. They decided they would call themselves the Dupont Masonic Club.

By Sept. 1916, the members of Dupont Masonic Club started a movement to obtain a dispensation from the Grand Lodge of Virginia.

The various forms were requested on behalf of the Master Masons who composed the Masonic Club. The Lodge met for a year U.D., and on February 14, 1918, a charter was granted with the following officers:

W. I. Gilkerson                       Worshipful Master

Lyman Stutz                           Senior Warden

S. C. Nottingham                    Junior Warden

Dupont Lodge No. 289 began having its meetings on North 6^th Street until January 22, 1929, when the premises with all of the Lodges personal property was destroyed by fire.

In April 1929, the members of Dupont Lodge started to look into the possibility of constructing their own Masonic temple.

On April 30, 1931, two years later, a contract was let to build the present temple. On December 28, 1931, the Lodge was dedicated. Worshipful J. J. Cook was the first member to serve as Worshipful Master in the new temple.

Since the dedication of the temple, the Lodge has grown and prospered. Dupont Lodge has held steadfast to the high ideals of Masonry and we are indeed proud of our past history.