From: Spindle City Historic Society, Volume 14 Issue 3, Fall 2011

Masons in Cohoes
The Spindle City Historic Society recently received a
coin from 1858 for our collection from member Robert Van
Valkinburgh. This item inspired research revealing that the
coin was a Masonic “penny” given to all entry level
members of the society. The tools used to manufacture the
pennies included a hammer and a punch, which produced
the imprints on the coin. One side of the coin had the
Masonic square and compass and the letters HTSSTKS
(signifying Hiram, Tyrian, Widow’s Son, Sendeth to King
Solomon), and the other side of the coin had the words
Cohoes Chapter No. 168 R.A.M. (Royal Arch Masons),
February 4th, 1858, Cohoes, N.Y. These pieces of
information provided a good opportunity to investigate
Masonry and its arrival and history in Cohoes.
The rituals of Free Masonry reflect an allegorical
founding of the fraternity by the builders of King
Solomon’s Temple. There is little existing evidence on the
true historical origins of Free Masonry, which has led to a
great deal of speculation among historians from within and
outside the fraternity. Some believe it evolved from the
lodges of stonemasons in the Middle Ages, while others
believe the use of the name for the organization is merely
symbolic. The origin of the group has been attributed to
King Solomon’s construction of the Temple in Jerusalem,
an offshoot of the ancient mystery schools, an institutional
outgrowth of the medieval guilds of stonemasons, or
descendance from the Knights Templar. The name
“Freemason” may have been derived from “free man”, that
is, its members were not serfs or indentured workers and
thus free to travel from one work location to another. Early
development of Masonry included stage one or operative
freemasonry, associated with the craft guilds and having
simple ritual elements. As early as 1376, the term
Freemason was referred to in records from one of the
numerous craft guilds of London. In the late 16th and early
17th centuries a gentrification of the organization began, as
evidenced by the notable and noble gentlemen among the
membership. The first Grand Lodge of London, England
was founded in 1717 by the joining of four lodges which
met in London taverns. Freemasonry shifted from being an
obscure private institution to one in the public eye, and its
history from that time on became well documented. In
1723 James Anderson wrote and published The Constitution
of the Free Masons, which was reprinted in Philadelphia in
1734 by Benjamin Franklin, who that year was elected
Grand Master of the Masons of Philadelphia. In 1751, there
was a schism among Masonic groups, which divided into
two separate Grand Lodges, the Ancients and the Moderns,
a split which lasted more than six decades.

While Benjamin Franklin was in France in 1778, he was re-elected to office in the Moderns, but when he returned to America he found that his lodge had changed to Ancients, thus he was refused Masonic honors at his funeral. The impact of Freemasonry on the history of Europe and America in the 18th century was significant. Along with Franklin, many other people prominent in public life were members, including George Washington.
Freemasonry in the U.S. had had periods of ascendance and decline. In 1826 William Morgan disappeared from Batavia, N.Y. after threatening to expose secrets of Freemasonry, which led to the allegation that he had been murdered by Masons; however this was never proven. This event sparked a series of protests against the Masons in the U.S., and especially in New York State, resulting in a decline in membership for many years, but by the late 1850s the popularity of the organization had revived.

The history of masonry in Cohoes began with the formation of the Cohoes
Lodge in 1846 by a group of prominent Masons. They initially met in a small
room in a building at the corner of Factory and Remsen Streets. The group soon
grew, with members from all walks of life in the city. Meetings were held in
several different sites until a new temple was built in the 1890s. On August 21,
1895, the cornerstone of the new building was laid at 128-130 Remsen Street,
and 8,000 Masons were on hand to assist in the ceremony. When the Temple,
designed by Fielding and Mag, architects from Troy, was completed in 1896,
there were 240 Masons in Cohoes. The building included a spacious banquet
hall on the fourth floor, and businesses occupied the first floor storefronts. At
this time Cohoes was the only Lodge in the state that owned its own temple.
The Cohoes Masons were an active group. On October 1909, they
sponsored a “Clam Bake” at Brookside Park near Albia. 126 ladies and
gentlemen traveled in chartered cars to the event, which also featured a baseball
game. Many other activities were held over the years, including a 60th
anniversary celebration on Halloween Night in 1906. A group of over 300
Masons attended a banquet with music, and speeches stressing equality.
Splendid decorations adorned the choir gallery around the great water-powered organ, which took up three floors on one side of the building.

A celebration of the 100th anniversary of the group was held in October 1946, with four days of festivities. Events began on October 20 with a service at the Reformed Church. The 21st featured a Veterans’ Night, honoring those Masons who had served in the armed forces -- 51 members during WW I, with two losing their lives, and 34 who served in WW II. ”Class Night” was observed on the October 22, with reminiscences of past classes, and lastly the Grand Masters Night was held on the 23rd. In 1963 an investiture ceremony was held in Cohoes for 18 area Masters of the Rensselaer-Schenectady district and another ceremony in 1968 for 18 new Masters-elect. In March of 1968, awards for long and faithful service were given to Thomas Demain for 60 years, John E. Taylor, Donald Scotland and Harry Calkins for 50 years; in 1969 a 50 year award was given to Morton T. Valley. The Cohoes Lodge 116, with its many years of activity in the community, was a tribute to the Grand Lodge of the State of New York as well as a mainstay and vital part of the Rensselaer-Schenectady Masonic District.

In 1997 the Cohoes Lodge celebrated its 150th anniversary. The anniversary program booklet included the Lodge’s officers in 1846: Ebenezer Wadsworth, Master; George Abbott, Senior Warden; John B. Harrison, Junior Warden; William Orlop, Jr., Secretary; Reuben White, Treasurer; George C. Griffen, Senior Deacon; Eldridge G. Mossey, Jr., Deacon. Officers in 1997 were: Earle Fridel, Master; Arthur DeVoe, Senior Warden; Chester D. Stone, Junior Warden; John V. Bennett, Secretary; and Robert E. Clark, Treasurer. It was at this 1997 anniversary celebration that the announcement was made that the Cohoes Lodge would consolidate with the Evening Star Lodge #75 of Latham.
In 2006, the Cohoes Local development Corporation obtained funds to restore the Masonic Temple building, with these applied to the construction of an elevator in the rear and restoration of the stone façade. The building continues to be used for businesses on the first floor; one of its recent notable tenants was the Bread and Jam Café. The second floor is currently leased to a company that provides software development and photography services; the building also houses offices for an ambulance service, a financial services company, private investigators and a medical billing company. The old water-powered organ is no longer in the building, but is in possession of the Cohoes LDC and housed in Harmony Mill #4. There are plans in the works to commission artists to create street art for the streets and parks of Cohoes using the organ’s pipes.

June Cherniak/staff  Spindle City Historic Society
Many thanks to Robert Van Valkinburgh for his donation, and to Paul Kleinberger, Master , Evening Star Lodge #75 in Latham, for information that assisted in writing this article.