Exhibits

New: Constitutions of the Freemasons: The Moderns and Antients Grand Lodges

Prior to the development of speculative Freemasonry, books of constitutions governed the laws, rules, customs, and privileges of operative stonemason lodges throughout Britain and Continental Europe. In the British Isles, several “charges,” or rules of conduct, were devised to create balance between guilds of stoneworkers. 

Some examples are:

The Halliwell Manuscript, aka The Regius Poem (14th-15th century)
The Cooke Manuscript (15th century)
Sloane Manuscript (15th century)
Grand Lodge Manuscript (1583)

Of these early constitutions, 99 still exist and pertain to operative masonry. They remain relevant to today’s speculative Masons, also known as Freemasons – members of the fraternity as we now know it. These charges formed the governing foundation of the fraternity in the dawn of the 18th century.

Continue to exhibits below

Moderns' Grand Lodge Constitutions
Antients' Grand Lodge Constitutions

 

Builders of Dreams: The California Masonic Experience 1850-Present

This exhibit debuted in February 2009 at the Conference of Grand Masters of Masons in North America to high acclaim. It was on display at the Henry W. Coil Library & Museum of Freemasonry in San Francisco through Nov. 10, 2009. In addition to the artifacts a movie was produced. Watch the movie here. (Download time varies according to Internet connection. Internet Explorer users may require extra download time.)