Masonic Associations

Freemasonry is fundamentally a self-improvement, volunteer association that teaches moral, intellectual, and spiritual lessons through three initiation ceremonies.

Washington joined Freemasonry in the Lodge at Fredericksburg, Virginia. He was 20 years old when he received the first degree of Entered Apprentice on November 4, 1752. He paid the lodge two pounds and three shillings to join. Ten days after turning 21, on March 3, 1753, he was passed to the second degree of Fellowcraft. On August 4, 1753, he was raised to the third degree of Master Mason. The lodge’s surviving minute book records Washington attending only two more meetings: September 1, 1753, and January 4, 1755.

Many of Washington’s brothers in the Fredericksburg Lodge later served within in the Continental Army or Virginia Militia, including Hugh Mercer, George Weedon, and Thomas Posey. Washington’s “Mother Lodge” was renamed and numbered as Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4 after the creation of the Grand Lodge of Virginia in 1778. It continues to meet today.

Fraternity and Firing Glasses

Social life was an integral part of the Masonic fraternity. Lodge meetings were often held in local taverns where amenities were readily available. Lodges with permanent quarters, or those at a distance from public houses, provided their own food, drink, and accompanying tablewares. The inventory of an early Massachusetts lodge includes tumblers, wine glasses, and a ladle among the accouterments of Masonic ritual. Ceramics and glassware decorated with Masonic symbols survive in lodges, museums, and private collections.

Masonic tumblers, called "firing glasses," are characterized by a thick base or foot, like the one shown here, to prevent breakage as they were struck against the table following each lodge toast. The reverberating sound echoed like musket fire, hence the name "firing glasses"

Sometime between 1785 and 1788, Alexandria Lodge No. 39 obtained a supply of decanters and glasses engraved with its name and the Masonic compass and rule. Surviving examples are much prized for their rarity and connection with No. 39, the first Masonic lodge organized in Alexandria, Virginia. Originally warranted by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in 1785, it applied five years later for a warrant from the Grand Lodge of Virginia, and became Alexandria Lodge No. 22 with General George Washington as the Charter Master.

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Masonic Aprons

Aprons are considered the single most important piece of ceremonial regalia that Masons wear. They symbolize the connection to their medieval roots when stonemasons wore utilitarian aprons often made from sheep hide. 

The evolution of Masonic aprons is a fascinating story. Many are beautiful works of art reflecting needlework styles and fashions of their day.

One of the aprons owned by George Washington is now in the collection of the Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22.