Masons turned out in force to rededicate Brandon Masonic Lodge No. 114, which this year celebrates its 100-year anniversary at its Moon Avenue location.
“On Thursday, June 13, 1924, we settled here, and since then we have been forging a legacy that has lasted a century,” said Cory Jones, the lodge’s worshipful master, in remarks for the June 13 reconsecration and rededication ceremony. “Brandon had three main roads in 1924, and Moon Avenue was at the center of those three roads.”
Today, at the corner of Moon Avenue and Morgan Street, a marker notes the lodge was established on January 20, 1890. Originally known as Hacienda Lodge No. 114, the Freemasons met in rooms over Pemberton’s Store in Seffner. Moves in 1897 and 1912, to Thonotosassa and back to Seffner, preceded the June 13, 1924, move to Moon Avenue, where the newly built lodge was dedicated on August 24, 1924. At the June 13 rededication, Masons unveiled the lodge’s 100-year anniversary floor marker.
“Over the past 134 years, our local Masonic group has steadfastly served its members and the community,” lodge historian Steven Dolfi said at the June 13 ceremony. “Our journey has been marked by numerous relocations and name changes, but our commitment to service has remained unwavering.”
Dolfi noted the lodge’s philanthropic efforts, including its support of Mango Elementary School, the Iris and Hubert Allen Scholarship Fund for graduating high school seniors, donations to the Emergency Care Help Organization (ECHO), donations to OneBlood and providing Meals on Wheels to seniors.
He noted as well the lodge’s connection to John William Brandon, who in 1857 brought his wife and seven sons by covered wagon from Mississippi to Fort Brooke, now known as Tampa. He settled them in what is now Seffner, and months later bought land in neighboring New Hope.
“As New Hope the town was being renamed Brandon, Brandon Lodge was also being initiated,” Dolfi said. “We can claim that our town of Brandon was founded on Masonic principles, as John Brandon himself was a Freemason.”
Freemasonry is one of the world’s oldest and largest fraternal organizations, dating back to ancient times. The Brandon Lodge reportedly has 386 members, including the youngest member, Hunter Daniel Bernstein, 19, and its oldest, William Andrews Jr., 97, who with 71 years is the lodge’s longest-serving Mason. Among the 121 past lodge masters is Donald Cowart, of Valrico, who held the position in 2013. He attended the rededication as the Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Florida.
For more information, visit https://brandonlodge.org/ or email secretary@brandonlodge.org.
