
                       ALEXANDRIA-WASHINGTON #22    

      In the year of 1782, Robert Adam, William Hunter Jr., John
Allison, Peter Dow, Dr. Elisha Cullen Dick and other prominent
Alexandria residents, and members of the Masonic Fraternity, took
steps to organize a Masonic lodge in Alexandria.  The Grand Lodge
of Virginia being dormant from December 1780 until November 1784,
due to its moving from Williamsburg to Richmond. A petition for a
warrant was presented to the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania
at its quarterly communication held in Philadelphia, September 2,
1782 and was ordered to lie over to the next regular communication
of the Grand Lodge.  The Grand Lodge convened on the 3rd of
February 1783.  Brother Robert Adam was then installed as Master of
No.39, to be held in the Borough of Alexandria, in Fairfax County,
Virginia. The first meeting of the lodge, for organization, was
held on the 25th of February 1783, and the first election of
officers under the Pennsylvania warrant was held on the 21st of
December 1783, at which time the following persons were duly
elected.

Robert Adam  -  Worshipful Master
Robert McCrea  -  Senior Warden
Elishia C. Dick  -  Junior Warden
William Herbert  -  Secretary
William Ramsey  -  Treasurer

     A circular letter from the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania,
received February 23, 1787, informed the lodge that the Grand Lodge
of Pennsylvania had been established independently of Great Britain
and requested the return of the warrant issued to No 39, February
3, 1783, in order to make its renewal under the new organization.
 
     Desiring to be governed in accordance with its usages of
Masonry in determining the course to be pursued, it was ordered at
this meeting,"That Col. Michael Ryan, a member of the lodge, be
requested to inquire of James Mercer, Esq. upon what principle he
was appointed Grand Master of the different lodges in Virginia",
and on the 3rd of March following, Col. Ryan reported that he had
made the necessary inquiry of Honorable James Mercer, Grand Master,
and was "happy to report that the Grand Lodge of Virginia is
constitutionally appointed consistent with the strictest rules of
Masonry, and independently of all foreign jurisdiction. That in its
formation the Grand Lodge had not, in any one instance, deviated
from the ancient landmarks of Masonry; and that our dependence on a
Grand Lodge at Richmond, to which we may conveniently send
representatives, will be more natural than our present situation."
At this meeting, the lodge decided that it would be more convenient
for it to work under the authority of the Grand Lodge of Virginia,
than under that of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, and having
resolved to make application to the Grand Lodge of Virginia for a
charter, recommended the following persons for appointment by the
Grand Lodge: George Washington,Esq.  Master Robert McCrea  -
Deputy Master William Hunter,Jr.  -  Senior Warden John Allison  -
Junior Warden
 
     To Messrs. Robert McCrea, William Hunter, Jr., John Allison
and William H. Powell was assigned the duty of waiting upon General
Washington to ascertain whether it would be agreeable to him to be
named in the charter. General Washington having given his consent,
William Hunter,Jr., and John Allison made application to the Grand
Lodge at Richmond for the charter.

     At the next regular communication of the Grand Lodge (held at
Masons Hall in the City of Richmond), the petition of this lodge
was granted, and the registry number changed from No.39 of
Pennsylvania to No.22 of Virginia. The new charter was issued by
the Grand Lodge of Virginia and signed by Edmund Randolph, Grand
Master.

    Thus it will be seen that Washington became the Charter Master
of Lodge No. 22 under the Virginia jurisdiction, April 28, 1788,
serving as such until December 20 following, as the extract from
the minutes of that date shows, he was unanimously elected to
succeed himself for the full term, serving in all, twenty months.

     For nearly twenty years the lodge had no permanent home and
held its assemblies in Taverns of the town, as a rule entirely
unsuitable for such meetings.

     The erection of a building to be used exclusively for Masonic
purposes first engaged the attention of the lodge in 1785, and in
the following year application was made to the City Council for
permission to erect a hall over the Market Building. A similar
petition was submitted to the same body in 1800 and having met with
their approval and a sufficient sum having been raised for the
purpose, the first Temple was erected by the lodge on the 16th of
September 1802, and was occupied by the fraternity until the 19th
of May 1871, nearly 70 years, when it was destroyed by fire.

     Most of the old furniture, all of the records, the original
painting of Washington by Williams, the Washington Chair often
called the Master's Chair, and a number of relics and paintings
were saved from the ruin, but some invaluable relics were lost or
destroyed. The building and furniture were insured for the small
sum of $2,600.00 of which the sum of $2,400.00 was paid to the
trustees for the benefit of the lodge.

     With this small sum as a nucleus, on the 25th of May 1871, the
lodge adopted a resolution to rebuild. The new and elegant building
erected by the lodge on the site of the old hall was an ornament to
the City, and a monument of the public spirit and Masonic zeal of
its members. The new lodge hall was dedicated on February 23, 1874
by W.H.Lambert, Esq., Grand Master of Masons in Virginia. The Lodge
occupied the 3rd and 4th floors for its lodge hall and museum. The
city Fathers occupied the 1st and 2nd floors.

     After the death of Washington, it was the desire of the lodge
that its name be changed, so as to embrace the name of
"Washington". Application was made to the Grand Lodge of Virginia
and on the 9th day of December 1805, the name was changed to
Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22.

     The lodge continued to hold its meetings in the new lodge hall
until their transfer to the George Washington Masonic National
Memorial in 1944.

     Alexandria-Washington Lodge No.22 has furnished the 
following Grand Masters in Virginia:
William H. Lambert-----1873-1874
Kosciusko Kemper ------1906-1907
Charles H. Callahan----1924-1926
Robert South Barrett---1942-1943
Donald M. Robey--------1987-1988
