Belong to Something Greater than Yourself...
The Grand Lodge of Indiana and all of the members of our Hoosier Masonic family are excited to be celebrating 200 years of Freemasonry in Indiana (1818-2018). We welcome your interest in our fraternity, and are happy to share information about Freemasonry.
Freemasonry is the world’s first, largest, and most legendary fraternal organization. Indiana has over 50,000 Masons in almost 400 lodges throughout the state, and they represent men from all walks of life. Admission to our lodges is open to men of good character and faith, regardless of their race, color, religious beliefs, political views, sexual orientation, physical ability, citizenship, or national origin.
Through this universal brotherhood, Masons learn to be better husbands, better fathers, better brothers, and better citizens. By appreciating our differences, we learn to focus on what unites Mankind. Therefore, the discussion of divisive topics like religion, politics, and business is not permitted in our lodges. In this way, we live up to the centuries-old aim of our fraternity – to unite men of every country, sect, and opinion, and foster true friendship among those who otherwise would have remained at a perpetual distance.
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Indiana
Freemasonry moved westward across the American continent after the Revolution, and especially following the expansion of the Louisiana Purchase. The first Masonic lodges in the Indiana Territory came out of Kentucky in 1809, when a lodge was chartered in Vincennes, along the Wabash River. Another strain descended out of Ohio, as well.
Freemasonry was seen as a vital, civilizing force on the frontier that helped to spread democratic ideals and practices into the farthest edges of the wilderness. Indiana statehood was granted in December 1816, and the Grand Lodge of Indiana F&AM was formed in January 1818 with nine Masonic lodges in the new state. Countless members of the territorial, and later the state, government and other important institutions in early Indiana were Freemasons.
https://youtu.be/Ay594Sll1O8
You will find countless cities and counties throughout the state today that were named after noteworthy men who were members of the Masonic fraternity. Indiana Masons were also major contributors to the first formation of educational institutions, including often sharing their lodge buildings with the community schools or libraries.
Today
In the 21st century, Freemasons continue their tradition of building bridges of brotherhood as they strive to make good men better ones, and thereby improving the world. Today, there are approximately 3.5 million regular, recognized Freemasons around the globe. Some 1.3 million of them reside in the United States, and Indiana has more than 50,000 members in almost 400 lodges throughout the state
https://youtu.be/KZeRDaGwG2c
Worldwide Charity
In the 1800s, at a time when the U.S. government provided no social “safety net,” the Masonic tradition of charity, founding orphanages, homes for widows, and care for the aged provided the only protection many people knew. Over the centuries, Freemasonry has developed into a worldwide fraternity emphasizing personal study, self-improvement, and social betterment by way of individual involvement and philanthropy. The dignity of man, the liberty of the individual, the right of all persons to worship as they choose, and the importance of education stand at the forefront of Masonic thought. The Grand Lodge of Indiana opened the Indiana Masonic Home (known today as Compass Park) at Franklin, Indiana in 1916 as a retirement community for its members and a home for their orphans. Masonic organizations also sponsor an enormous number of official charities around the country and the world, in addition to the millions of dollars contributed by individual Freemasons on their own.
