Crafty Mason
Black Creek Pioneer Village is a historic site in Toronto. The village is a recreation of life in 19th-century Ontario and gives an idea how rural Ontario might have looked in the early-to-mid 1800s where visitors may walk the town, going from building to building, as exactly as it was in the past. And like many towns and cities across the country and the world, it houses it’s own Masonic Lodge.
As posted on the Heritage Lodge No. 730 website:
The purpose of the Masonic Lodge at Black Creek Pioneer Village is to present Masonry in a favourable light to the many visitors who tour the village each year and to give them a better understanding of the place of Freemasonry in the social fabric of an 1867 crossroads rural community.
Last Sunday, I spent the better part of an afternoon walking about the town, and talking to the historical interpreters who dress the part and explain how life was. The first viewable building when you enter the town was the Tinsmith Shop, but at the back there was a peculiarly placed door with a little sign to the left (pictured above) reading Black Creek Masonic Lodge. The door was open, so I eagerly made my way into the building, and up the stairs.
Click to Enlarge
The lodge room (pictured above) was exactly as you might have found it years ago. I was greeted by two Brothers who handed me a pamphlet about Masonry in general, and Masonry at Black Creek. They were very knowledge and willing to answer any questions I had, or any of the village’s visitors had, as this building is open to the public. The picture above does not do this room justice, unfortunately. I hadn’t planned on taking pictures during my visit, and I definitely didn’t think I’d be walking into a lodge that day, so I had to make due with my Blackberry.
Scanned copy of the Black Creek Masonic Lodge Pamphlet:
For more information about Black Creek Pioneer Village, see the official website at: http://www.blackcreek.ca/
Have you been to the lodge room? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!
