Welcome!

Welcome to the the blog for our historic Masonic Lodge Hall in Idaho City, ID.


The first structure was originally erected in 1863, 1/2 a block from its current location at Wall and Montgomery Streets, burned in the Great Fire of 1865, and rebuilt in the same year. The same structure from that '65 rebuild stands today across from what is now a Park, and diagonally across from what is now the Museum, but what was once the shop belonging to James Pinney, a lodge member, who was responsible for the rebuild of the lodge hall.

Idaho Lodge No. 35 was chartered out of Oregon, as we were still under the jurisdiction of that state (Idaho did not achieve statehood until much later). When the Grand Lodge of Idaho, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons was formed - in this building - Idaho No.35 was rechartered as Idaho No.1.

In the 1920s, membership had dwindled as the town shrank from many thousand residents during its Gold Rush days, to a few hundred, and Idaho No. 1 moved to meet in Boise, in a lodge building erected to allow multiple lodges to assemble. It has been a custom, however, for the members of Idaho No.1 to make an annual pilgrimage to Idaho City, some 35 miles away, and return to give the Third Degree of Freemasonry upon a candidate in the old lodge hall around June 24 (St. John the Baptist Day) - usually the third Saturday in June of each year.

To maintain the building, to recognize its significance to masons around the state, and not just among the members of Idaho No.1, and to promote connections to the community of Idaho City, a special lodge was chartered, to be known as Idaho City Historic Lodge #1863. This lodge meets in September of each year, and is distinct from Idaho #1, which still owns the edifice.