PERSEVERANCE LODGE #59

History

 

By the early years of the last century, Plymouth had attained prominence as a ship building and shipping center.  Its population had grown to 671 by 1810.  Many of its settlers had migrated from Plymouth and Boston, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Philadelphia, and Norfolk, Virginia.  Plymouth had no Masonic organization and there were many Masons in the population longing for Masonic Communication.  In 1808 or 1809 they organized an unauthorized Masonic Lodge or Masonic Club.

In 1810 they applied to the Grand Lodge of Masons for permission to organize into a regularly chartered Lodge.  In November of 1810 they offered a petition through Young Eagle #49, which was located somewhere south of Williamston, N.C., probably in the area called Macedonia.  They were given a dispensation to meet and after the dispensation period, an application for a charter was presented to the Grand Lodge in 1811.  The Lodge took in many members during this period.

 The Grand Lodge assembled on November 21, 1811 in Raleigh, with Governor Benjamin Smith as its Grand Master.  The Grand Lodge was in session many days and on Friday, November 29, 1811 it was moved that a charter be granted……..and it was ordered that…. A charter issue constituting a Lodge at Plymouth, Washington County, North Carolina, to be called Perseverance Lodge No. 59, and directed to John Ewing Parker, as Master, Joseph Bozman, Senior Warden, and Alpheus Paidleford, Junior Warden. 

On the same day, Young Eagle Lodge #49, which sponsored the organization of Perseverance Lodge, surrendered its charter.

The Lodge entered into a lease agreement for the second floor of a small frame building at the northeast corner of Fourth and Adams Streets, which was the Town Hall.  The lease was for twenty years, but the Lodge continued to use this hall until 1862.

 Perseverance Lodge is the oldest active institution or organization in Plymouth, by many years, except for the United States Post Office which outdates the Lodge by many years.

In 1819 antimasonic influence became evident in the community as well as in the Lodge and the growth of the Lodge was greatly retarded.  So bad was the sentiment that it almost broke up the Lodge.  The membership had dropped from forty five to thirty three.  One brother made a motion before the Lodge to surrender the charter.  The motion was beaten by only one vote.  In 1829 a public mass meeting was held, at which time the following resolution was adopted:

“Resolve: That we will not support any person for any office in Town, County, or State election, or hear any preacher of the gospel, who is a member of the Masonic Fraternity.

 By 1830 the matter had been nearly resolved and the Lodge began to make slow progress again.

 In 1842 the community was visited by a severe epidemic of fever which lasted several months, taking the lives of many people.  In the next year or two there was an exodus of people from the towns.  Many among them were the most active Masons.

By 1861, when the War between the States broke out, many of the young Masons entered the service and greatly retarded the growth and activities of the Lodge.

 On February 7, 1862, after the fall of Roanoke Island, the Federal Troops landed in Plymouth and occupied the town and surrounding area.  Therefore, there was no active Masonic Lodge during the next four years.  During the war, the Lodge Hall was destroyed, the charter, jewels, seal and by laws were saved by some faithful Mason and returned to the Lodge when it reopened in 1866. 

The Lodge never got back to its usual working condition.  Many of its members had either been killed or died in service.  Lethargy began to prevail among the Masons who were left.  By the latter 1870’s the Lodge was beginning to show some signs of interest and growth, but on the fateful night of January 31, 1871, fire completely destroyed the business section on both sides of Water Street, destroying the Lodge Hall the second time.  Again, the charter was saved.  It was thought for many years that the jewels and seal were destroyed together with all records of the Lodge, however both jewels and seal made their appearance in the lodge many years later, but the bylaws and records were lost in the fire.

The few Masons that were left here saw little hope for the continuation of the Lodge after the destruction by the fire.  The matter was discussed, and on November 12, 1881 the charter was surrendered to the Grand Lodge.  After the surrender, many Masons began to realize what they had done and sent a delegation before the Grand Lodge to ask that the charter be restored.  The Grand Lodge refused the request and there was no Masonic Lodge in Plymouth for the next twenty one years.

 In 1902, J. W. Rose, a Baptist Minister, came to Plymouth as the pastor of the local Baptist Church.  He was an ardent mason and upon finding no Lodge, contacted what few Masons were here and discussed the possibility of organizing a Masonic Lodge.  Their first request was denied.  However, on their second trip, they returned with a dispensation for a new Lodge.  They met on the second floor of the N. D. Norman store and were organized under the name Buncombe Lodge.  On January 13, 1904, a charter was issued for Buncombe Lodge No. 526, with A. L. Owens, Master.

 There was great sentiment of regain the original Lodge charter, name and number.  Two requests were denied.  Later during the Grand Lodge session the group was told that if they could find three members of the old Lodge who were in good standing at the time of the surrender of the charter of the old lodge and were willing to take membership in the new Lodge, they would restore the charter.  They were given until the Grand Lodge Session of 1912 to qualify.  The requirement was met and the charter, name and number of Perseverance Lodge was therefore restored to this Lodge on January 11, 1912.  Thus, Buncombe Lodge No. 526 passed into history and Perseverance Lodge No. 59 began its work again.

 

The information for this presentation was taken from a writing by John W. Darden, P.M. and P.D.D.G.M.

Written in 1949, Bro. Darden had two goals.  (1) to give the membership of Perseverance 59 a historical past of the rough road the Lodge has travelled for nearly a century and a half, and, (2) to raise awareness to the need of  a temple of it’s own for the Lodge, and helping to obtain that temple.

At the writing of Bro. Dardens booklet in 1949, Perseverance Lodge had a membership of 185 members and was one of the most active Lodges in North Carolina.  Today there are 88 members.