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In
attempting to compile and summarize the history of
Wingate Lodge 161 F&AM, of Simpsonville, Kentucky,
it was found that a great many of the old records
had been lost. Therefore, the early part of this
history is taken more from a mouth-to-ear record as
summarized and handed down by word-of-mouth from the
old residents that have lived in the community
adjacent to this lodge. Some of these old families
that have settled in and surrounding this Lodge whom
have related the early history are the Walters
family, who settled on property adjacent to this in
the year of 1807, the Oliver family that settled in
this community in the early 1800's, the Hollinger
and the Byars families, and much of this early
history has come from these older settlers.
The first charter for Wingate Lodge was issued on
September 2, 1847 by the Grand Lodge in convocation
in Lexington, Kentucky, and upon that same day there
were three other Lodges in Kentucky chartered,
namely the Brooksville Lodge in Bracken County, the
Devotion Lodge in Lexington, and Bedford Lodge in
Trimble County. The records show that under the
first charter issued the Wingate Lodge was issued by
the following Grand Lodge Officers:
H.B. Allen, Worshipful Grand
Master
I.H. Davies, Worshipful Deputy Grand Master
Charles Tilden, Grand Senior Warden
John McClure, Grand Junior Warden
Phillip Swigert, Grand Secretary
Wingate Lodge was named for Past Grand Master Henry
Wingate, who was a member of Hiram Lodge #4 of
Frankfort. In the early minutes of Hiram Lodge there
are two names that often appear as officers in that
Lodge - Past Grand Master Henry Wingate and Phillip
Swigert, for whom our sister and neighboring Lodge
in Fisherville is named.
We find that the first officers presiding over this
Lodge were:
Horace B. Oliver, Worshipful
Master
Walter E. Powers, Senior Warden
Michael G. Alexander, Junior Warden
Horace Oliver resided immediately across the road
from the home of Wingate Lodge. Walter E. Powers was
a farmer, one of the oldest Baptist ministers, and
lived north of Simpsonville at what now is the Todds
Point community. Michael G. Alexander lived
immediately north of Simpsonville on the land
recently sold by the Jacob L. Smith Estate.
There no longer any of the Oliver family in this
community. However, Mr. Ferd and Miss Francis Elston
are direct descendents of that family. Walter E.
Powers lived to the ripe old age of 90 odd years and
probably was better known than any other Baptist
minister that ever lived in the western part of the
county. There are no known members left of the
Alexander family, although, early county history
tells us that their mother or grandmother was
murdered by a Negro slave by being thrown down the
steps, breaking her neck. This Negro was tried and
hang. This is believed to be the only woman ever
executed in Shelby County.
Wingate Lodge is probably one of the few Masonic
institutions 100 years old in the state of Kentucky
that has had only one home or Lodge building. Soon
after this Lodge was organized about the year 1848
or 1849, the brick was burned in a field adjacent to
the Lodge room and hauled to the present site and
the building was erected, completed just prior to
1850.
This Lodge had grown greatly in number by the
outbreak of the Civil War, Many of the members of
Wingate enlisted in both the Confederate and Union
Armies, and it was said that the fraternal
friendship that they held for their brothers kept
the feeling of strife in this community in check and
had it not been for Wingate Lodge the times would
have been more turbulent than they were, which was
indeed bad enough.
At one time during the Civil War there was a
detachment of Union soldiers going down the state
road conducting a great caravan of wagons loaded
with supplies and cattle being driven and taken to
Louisville for the use of the Union Army. The rear
of this caravan was guarded by fifty Negro troops,
officered by white officers, and as the weather was
exceedingly cold the white officers were warming at
a store located just across the road from where the
Shell filling station now stands. Sue Monday, a
Confederate gorilla leader, came into Simpsonville
with 20 or 25 rebel gorillas. The officers upon
approach of the gorillas ran out from the store and
crawled under the porch to hide. When the gorillas
learned that the detachment had gone through they
mounted their horses and with that wild rebel yell,
charged over the hill where Wingate Lodge is now
located, opened fire upon and killed 49 out of 50
Negro troops. The only one escaping happened to have
had a wagon turn over on him pinning him underneath
and thereby hiding him from the gorillas. These
Negroes were all buried in one trench upon the land
now owned by Ferd Elston, just west of the viaduct
on Highway #60. It has been told by eyewitnesses
that when the gorillas charged up the hill a good
many citizens, witnessing the Union soldiers
conducting the supplies and seeing that a battle was
imminent, rushed into the lower floor of the Lodge
room, thereby securing protection from the bullets
that were flying thick and fast.
Probably the worst move ever made by the members of
this Lodge was when they agreed to take over the
cemetery for maintenance that had been started and
laid out by the Odd Fellows Lodge in this community.
The Odd Fellows had had a disastrous fire,
destroying their building and records, and also the
blueprint for the cemetery. They begged the Masons
to take over this cemetery, which they did, for
civic pride, same being deeded to Wingate Lodge by
the Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows, meeting in Maysville
for their annual convention in the year of 1872.
What made this so bad was the fact that practically
all of the lots had been sold and there was no money
retained for an endowment fund for the maintenance
of the cemetery. The blueprint had burned and a new
blueprint had to be made from memory, and it has
been found in later years in many instances to be
incorrect.
Wingate Lodge has had spasmodic growth from period
to period and then would have a slackening off of
work. However from the records it has been found
that at no time were there fewer than twenty
members, nor at any time has it had one hundred
members. The lower floor of this old Lodge building
was used for many years as an educational
institution, having been used part of the time as a
room to hold certain grades placed there by your
public school system, and at other periods many
noted educators conducted private schools in this
building.
The records show that the best ritualistic work done
in this part of the state was done by a team from
Wingate Lodge that worked together about 1896 to
around 1910. Some of the members of this team were
Brothers W.T. Martin, W.P. Johnson, George Finley,
H.E. Jones, and many others. Brother George Finley
was considered one of the best ritualists ever known
in this locality, being able to perform the work in
any station from the first degree up through and
including the Commandery. He could do this work
whenever called upon at any time and was nearer
letter perfect than any man ever known around here.
In the last few years it has been our misfortune to
lose some of the men that have been the pillars of
this Lodge, namely W.T. Martin, who was initiated in
Campbellsburg Lodge previous to 1890, W.P. Johnson
initiated in Wingate in 1893, J.J. McMurray
initiated in Wingate in 1893, H.E. Jones initiated
in Wingate in 1892, and W.A. Brooke, our beloved
Secretary who passed on this year. These men were
all outstanding citizens and Masons, and a credit to
this fraternity and their community.
We have at this time in the membership of our Lodge
many young men who should take pride in their Lodge
membership, and should organize a good working team
and make their lives, both in and out of the Lodge,
a shining example of what Masonry should mean in a
community, thereby interesting the many young men in
our community, that they might also desire to become
members of this great and honorable fraternity.
The Holy Bible now used in this Lodge was presented
to the Lodge by Past Grand Master Wingate, for whom
the Lodge was named, at the time the Lodge received
it's charter. This Bible has been the only one used
by the Lodge during all of this period. |
