Masonic Lodge

ARMY LODGE NO. 24

FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS

1813 - 1820

Settlers and soldiers moving west brought with them familiar institutions such as the Masonic Lodge.  Here at Camp Meigs, military officers were authorized by Ohio Militia Captain Henry Brush, Ohio Masonic Grand Master, to establish the first lodge in Northwest Ohio on September 13, 1813.  Colonel William Anderson was Master , Lt. Col. William McMillan, Senior Warden, and Captain Charles Gratiot, Junior Warden.  Built under the command of Gen. William Henry Harrison, the fort was named for Ohio Governor, Return Jonathan Meigs.

Garrisoned by less than 2,400 regulars and militia, Fort Meigs withstood two sieges by combined British and Indian forces, and played an important role in the northwestern campaigns of the War of 1812.  Lt. Almon Gibbs commanded the final 40-man detachment which lowered the flag and retired the colors in 1815.  He later served as the first Master of Northern Light Lodge No. 40 Free and Accepted Masons, founded March 5, 1817 in Waynesfield (now Maumee) and as the village's first postmaster and Justice of the Peace.