KING SOLOMON LODGE #394

The first meeting of King Solomon Lodge U.D. was held June 14 1881 in a room over a horse stable belonging to the local Hotel keeper in Thamesford. The rent was set at ten cents per year, payable January first each year, property taxes and insurance as extras. The lease was for a term of 99 years.

The ceremonies of dedicating and consecrating the new lodge room and the formal installation of officers, was performed on October 18, 1881 by R.W. Bro. G.E. Eden,D.D.G.M., and other Grand Lodge Officers.

After some ten years, a lot was purchased and plans prepared for a new lodge room. The estimated construction costs were beyond the budget of the lodge, and as the lease had been cancelled, arrangements were made to rent the Orange Lodge rooms. Eventually a building in Ingersoll was purchased and moved to Thamesford. The dedication of the new building took place on February 7th 1895.

In August of 1933, W. Bro. Matthew Day, the first Worshipful Master of King Solomon Lodge #394 and the last of the Charter Members passed to the Grand Lodge above.

On November 7th 1968, fire destroyed the interior of the banquet hall, and the lodge and ante rooms suffered water damage. Repairs were made during the winter months of 1968-69 and were completed in March. During the reconstruction period regular meetings were held in the Corinthian #700 lodge rooms in Kintore.

The 1970's saw more improvements to the lodge building, with the installation of a metal roof and aluminum siding. The decade ended with planning and preparations for the Centennial Celebration of the Lodge.

The highlights of the 100th year were the dedication and presentation of the gold regalia on September 9th 1981, followed by a Ladies Night on September 21st. A special Centennial banquet took place on September 26th, with the Most Worshipful Bro. Howard Polk, Grand Master, as the guest speaker. As a final event, a Divine Service and breakfast was held October 25th 1981 with the service at Westminster United Church in Thamesford.
(excerpts from History of Our Lodge prepared by R.W. Bro. John M. Taylor,July 1 1981.)



KING SOLOMON LODGE NO. 394 The first meeting of King Solomon Lodge U.D., was held on 14th June, 1881, as the result of the efforts of the Thamesford area Masons who were desirous of starting a Masonic Lodge. Charter members included brethren from St. John’s Lodge No. 68 and King Hiram Lodge No. 37 in Ingersoll and Mount Olivet lodge No. 300 in Thorndale. The meeting was held in a room over a horse stable belonging to the local hotel keeper. The rental agreement was drawn up between the three principle officers and the innkeeper for the sum of $0.10 per year, payable on the 1st January each year, with property taxes and insurance as extra costs. Conditions in the agreement included the provision for the room to be kept in good repair, and the term of the lease was for 99 years. In 1888 the First Ladies Night was a supper held at the Hotel, the cost of which was $0.75 per couple. A visiting brother was lodged for the night by one of the members, and Lodge subsequently reimbursed him $0.75 for expenses incurred. The same year, a new stove was purchased at a cost of $2.25, with $0.30 being allowed for the old one. From our beginning in 1881 until the end of 1888, King Solomon Lodge was a part of the Wilson district, but due to the large number of Lodges in the District, we were realigned to the London District No. 3, which was also going under reassessment due to their large number of Lodges. London District was split again in 1966 to form the existing London East and London West Districts. In 1893 the D.D.G.M., threatened to confer with Grand Lodge regarding our meetings being held in the (rented) Orange Lodge premises if we did not take positive action to secure our own building before the end of his term of office expired. Although the records are not well detailed concerning this subject, it appears an existing building was purchased in Ingersol and moved to Thamesford, Presumably at a lower cost than that of constructing a new one. For the “At Home”, in 1909 extensive repairs were done to the Lodge rooms which included the application of the existing wallpaper at a cost of $164.50. in 1914 hydro was installed in the building at a cost of $111.00. The first hydro bill is recorded as being $0.65. World War 1 also began this same year, and many brethren were honoured as they responded to the “Call to Duty”. A motion was passed to pay the dues of the brethren involved in the conflict during their absence, (the same was done during World War 2). During these troubled times, the Lodge endeavoured to do its part by investing in Victory Bonds, and making donations to the British Relief Fund. In the early 1950’s joint installations were held with Merrill Lodge No. 344 in Dorchester. The selection of installing master was alternated each year. The first reference in the Lodge record of Oysters being served on the Installation Night was made in 1955, a tradition that is still carried on.

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