Freemasons Stepping in at Fort at No. 4

Earlier in the year I mentioned how the rebuilt Fort at No. 4 in Charlestown, New Hampshire, has been closed because of economic problems. This week I received a press release saying that the Olive Branch Lodge #64 of Freemasons, located in Chester, Vermont, is stepping in to help. The lodge’s efforts will include “Fund raising, marketing and volunteers.”

There was already apparently some overlap between the museum board and this Masonic lodge. One board member, Thomas Johnston, IV, is also Masonic Grand Master for Vermont. He noted, furthermore, that “the first Masonic Lodge for Vermont was chartered in Charlestown during 1781.” Olive Branch Lodge #64 is inviting other Masonic groups to join the effort, starting with Faithful Masonic Lodge #12 in Charlestown.

The press release says, “The Board intends to host events at the Fort this summer while preparing for a full reopening of the Fort at No. 4 in the spring of 2011.”

(Photo of the Fort at No. 4 grounds by Slabcity Gang, via Flickr under a Creative Commons license.)