Hot Springs AR

On January 1, 1878 a group of Master Masons met and made a request
to the AR Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons for a dispensation
to empower them to work together as a lawful and regular Lodge in the
three symbolic degrees on the Ancient Craft of Masonry.

On the 6th day of February 1878, a dispensation was granted and on the
9th day of February 1878 they held their first meeting.

For several months of meeting in the year 1878, the minutes of the Lodge
are missing. Missing also are the minutes for January, February and March
of 1879, but the Charter shows that the Masonic Lodge was chartered on
the 16th day of January 1879. The first officers were W. J. Neighbor, Master;
W. H. Lewis, Senior Warden; and H. Hardin, Junior Warden.

The first lodge hall was built about July 1878 near the old Whittington School
House from which the Lodge took its name. Records show that the present
lodge hall was dedicated by the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of AR on
May 19th, 1968.

Whittington Masonic Lodge #365 has been a mainstay of this community
since our Charter was granted. Our lodge members are very active in many
local, state and even national events.

In 2006, the Lodge started a reading program in the elementary school at
Fountain Lake. Students would read books and take a comprehensive test
to determine their understanding of the material and were awarded points.

At the end of the term, the students with the highest points were presented
with a new bicycle. This program proved both helpful and successful and it
was then expanded to Mountain Pine and Jessieville Schools in 2007.

Our primary funding source for the program is the fish fries held each month
from March to October. Our lodge members also serve the community in
numerous, various ways and assist some local charitable organizations.