Prince Hall Masons in Virginia
Historical highway marker QA-37 · Petersburg
In March 1775, a Masonic lodge attached to the British army initiated Prince Hall and 14 other free black men as Freemasons in Massachusetts. Meeting provisionally as African Lodge No. 1, the black Freemasons gained full privileges in 1787 when they organized African Lodge No. 459 under a charter from the Grand Lodge of England. The first affiliated lodge in Virginia was established in Alexandria in Feb. 1845. After the Civil War, two rival Grand Lodges operated in Virginia. On 15 Dec. 1875, these two Grand Lodges met at First Baptist Church–Harrison Street in Petersburg and united to form the present-day Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Virginia, Free and Accepted Masons, Inc.
Department of Historic Resources, 2016