The charter of Balfour Masonic Lodge #188 is dated December 12, 1856. The first officers of the lodge were:
Some of the History of the Balfour Lodge # 188, Asheboro, NC By Wor.: Bro.: Jim Chrismon As is the case with all history, some is interesting to all listeners or readers, some is not. I have tried to piece together and report enough to satisfy all of our Masonic history buffs without overloading the casual interests of others who may only want or need less detail. I have tried to tie it together with relation to Masonic members and family and any lodges that have been or may now be a part of our past history. It is based on the written testimony of others and compiled and believed to be accurate but cannot, of course be guaranteed errorless. Also, names on lodge rolls are kept to a minimum since this is meant to be an oral report rather then a recorded historical document. It is believed that the idea to have a Masonic lodge in Asheboro had its birth in the minds of some farsighted Christian men of our community, prior to or during the year 1855. Apparently, the correct charter date for the lodge is December 2, 1856 with Francis Cooper, Master, William Parker, Sr. Warden, and Benjamin Moffit, Jr., Warden. The first lodge chartered in Randolph County was Williams chartered on December 10, 1804 at the old county seat of Johnstonville. It ceased to work on November 12, 1812. Neither can we claim to be the oldest lodge in present day Randolph County. Hanks Lodge #128 in Franklinville was chartered March 26, 1850, and the Deep River Lodge #164 of Coleridge were chartered earlier. There soon followed Mount New Salem Lodge at Union Factory, chartered December 12, 1859. It is interesting to note that a man by the name of John Banner Randleman moved his membership from Graham to the New Salem Lodge. He soon became one of Randolph County’s most famous citizens and Union Factory was renamed for him. Marietta Lodge #444 of Ramseur fills out the slate of our oldest near neighboring lodges. When Balfour Lodge’s by-laws were approved there were listed some of Randolph County’s best families; names like Cooper, Parker, Moffitt, Creason, Coble, Brown, Rush, Andrews, Buhrmann, Churchill, Drake, Elliott, Hale, Hislop, Jackson, McCain, Osborn, Steed, Sossamon, Verdin, Winslow, and Worth. You may have wondered how Balfour Lodge #188 got its name. Many have thought it was previously a part of the Balfour community just north of town and then moved to Asheboro. Both the community and the lodge were named after the same revolutionary war hero, Col. Andrew Balfour. Likewise the Balfour Chapter, National Socitey, Daughters of the American Revolution, and Balfour school bear his name. Col. Andrew Balfour was born in Scotland, came to America in 1772, leaving behind his family in Scotland. He landed in Boston and engaged in several business enterprises there Click here to continue |
| Balfour Lodge History |
Balfour Lodge #188 AF & AM
Chartered December 2, 1856 - Grand Lodge of North Carolina
Chartered December 2, 1856 - Grand Lodge of North Carolina
| Balfour Masonic Temple 632 Sunset Ave. Asheboro, NC 27203 (336) 625-5363 info@balfourlodge.com |
| Click Below |
| All original content is the copyright of Balfour Masonic Lodge #188. |
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