Masonic Temple

During the July 30, 1864 burning of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, a Confederate officer reportedly posted guards to prevent the burning of the Masonic temple.

The George Washington Masonic Lodge No. 143 was formed in 1815. In 1823 the lodge entered into a contract with a fellow Mason to construct a Masonic Temple, which was built in the years that followed. Due to financial problems, the lodge’s charter was returned to the Grand Lodge in 1831, and the temple was used as a church printing house. In 1860 the temple was reacquired by George Washington Lodge No. 143.

On July 30, 1864 Confederate Brig. Gen. John McCausland crossed the Potomac River at McCoys Ford and proceeded to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, which was only lightly defended. McCausland entered the town and demanded $100,000 in gold or $500,000 in currency in retaliation for Union Maj. Gen. David Hunter’s burning of private property in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Money from the banks had already been taken away, however, and McCausland promptly ordered his men to apply the torch to the town. While soldiers were busy entering homes, breaking up furniture and settings fires throughout the town, an unidentified Confederate officer reportedly noticed the Masonic Lodge and posted guards around it and other nearby buildings to prevent its destruction, presumably because he too was a Mason.

The Masonic Temple was remodeled and enlarged in 1899 and in the 1960s, and it is still used by George Washington Lodge No. 143.