Open House At Ashlar Masonic Temple – 13 May 2017

Update to Original Post (see below)

After giving the matter due consideration, we have decided to postpone the Open House we had planned for Saturday 13 May 2017 and combine it with out 150th Anniversary and Ashlar Masonic Temple re-deidication on 15 July 2017.

We will post more information about the 15 July 2017 event shortly.

Original Post

We are planning on having an Open House at Ashlar Masonic Temple on Saturday 13 May 2017 to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the first Masonic Lodge meeting in Nanaimo, which was held on 15 May 1867.

The location of the 15 May 1867 meeting was a now demolished building at the corner of Cavan Street and Hecate Street. Ashlar Lodge No. 3 has been meeting at our 101 Commercial Street location since 1873.

We will release more details about the Open House after our April Regular Meeting on 5 April 2017.

James Miller Brown – Grand Lodge of California Certificates From 1860

Our Ashlar Lodge No. 3 Historian was recently exploring some long overlooked storage areas in Ashlar Masonic Temple when he came across a cardboard storage cylinder containing some documents.

When he took the documents out of the cylinder he discovered some important pieces of Ashlar Lodge No. 3 history: two documents issued to James Miller Brown by the Grand Lodge of California in November 1860.

James Miller Brown (1830-1926) was Worshipful Master of Ashlar Lodge No. 3 in 1874 and 1875. His house is still standing at 528 Hecate Street in Nanaimo.

The first of these documents is an original Master Mason Certificate, issued at San Francisco by the Grand Lodge of California on 30 November 1860 to James Miller Brown of Hiram Lodge, No. 43, Eldorado, California.

James Miller Brown Master Mason scroll, issued by the Grand Lodge of California, San Francisco, on 30 November 1860. The original is displayed in Ashlar Masonic Temple.
James Miller Brown Master Mason scroll, issued by the Grand Lodge of California, San Francisco, on 30 November 1860. The original is displayed in Ashlar Masonic Temple.

The second document is a demit certificate issued to James Miller Brown by Hiram Lodge, No. 43, Eldorado, California, on 26 November 1860.

James Miller Brown, Hiram Lodge No. 43, Grand Lodge of California, demit certificate, dated 26 November 1860. The original is displayed in Ashlar Masonic Temple.
James Miller Brown, Hiram Lodge No. 43, Grand Lodge of California, demit certificate, dated 26 November 1860. The original is displayed in Ashlar Masonic Temple.

Continue reading James Miller Brown – Grand Lodge of California Certificates From 1860

John Shaw (1864-1937) – Featured Deceased Brother of Ashlar Lodge No. 3 For March 2017

Each month Ashlar Lodge No. 3 features a Deceased Brother as a way of highlighting Our History and the contributions Freemasons have made to the Nanaimo area.

Our featured Deceased Brother for March 2017 is John Shaw (1864-1937), a former Mayor of Nanaimo and Grand Master of B.C. in 1918.

John Shaw photo published in 1914. (courtesy of Nanaimo Community Archives)
John Shaw photo published in 1914. (courtesy of Nanaimo Community Archives)

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