The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Alabama, commonly called the Grand Lodge of Alabama, is one of two Masonic

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

 grand lodges in the state (the other being the predominately African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Alabama, founded in 1870.)

The Grand Lodge of Alabama was established in Montgomery

Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...

 on June 11, 1821, with Thomas Wadsworth Farrar as its first Grand Master

Grand Master (Masonic)

In Freemasonry a Grand Master is the leader of the lodges within his Masonic jurisdiction. He presides over a Grand Lodge, and has certain rights in the constituent lodges that form his jurisdiction....

. Previous to the Grand Lodge's formation, Masonic Lodges existed in the state under charters from the Grand Lodges of Louisiana, Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

, South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, and Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

. The creation of the Grand Lodge of Alabama provided unity and guaranteed that a common ritual was being performed during the degree work.

Former Grand Masters of Alabama include Governors Rufus Cobb (1881-2) and Russell Cunningham

Russell McWhortor Cunningham

Russell McWhortor Cunningham was an American Democratic politician who was the acting Governor of Alabama from April 25, 1904 to March 5, 1905. He was lieutenant governor when Governor William D...

 (1900-1) and U. S. Senator John H. Bankhead

John H. Bankhead

John Hollis Bankhead was a U.S. senator from the state of Alabama.-Biography:He was born on September 13, 1842. He was appointed, then elected, to serve out the remainder of the term left by the death of John Tyler Morgan, and was later re-elected twice. He served in the Senate from June 18, 1907...

(1883-4).

There are currently 311 active Lodges, with a total membership of over 32,000.

External links

• Alabama Grand Lodge