Humble Beginnings

The fraternal society known as Ancient Free and Accepted  Masons evolved from the Lodges and Guilds of the medieval  stonemasons who built the great cathedrals In Britain and  Europe. Our traditions can be traced directly to the associations of operative masons. They were men of outstanding character and high ideals, who built the cathedrals, abbeys, and castles of the Middle Ages.

With the decline of cathedral building in the 17th Century, many guilds of stonemasons, called "Operative" masons, started to accept into their membership those who were not members of the masons' craft and called them "Speculative" or "Accepted" masons.

It was in these groups, called lodges, comprised mainly of "Accepted" masons that Freemasonry, as we know it today, had its beginning.

In 1717, four of these lodges met in London, England  and formalized a Grand Lodge from which Freemasony spread to  the colonies and throughout the world.
 

The Masonic Lodge was a place where members could gather to  share an evening of friendship in the flicker of candle and oil  lamp. It was a place where social rank evaporated and men of  every occupation could meet as equals.It was a place where the  hardships of pioneer life could be forgotten and where plans  might be made to assist those in distress particularly widows and  orphans.

The lessons of truth, morality and virtue taught in the ritual  stood in practical support of the local church and state.

With the meeting ended, one can picture the members returning  home by horse-drawn cart or on foot in the brightness of a full  moon resolved to make a better life for all. Freemasonry, already  more than a 100 years old in Canada moved across Ontario with  the front rank of the pioneers as a focus of stability brotherly  love around which civilized life was built.