Civil Service Lodge No. 148

IN THE HISTORY of Civil Service Lodge, the 14th day of May, 1861 is the beginning of one-hundred years of interested and dedicated devotion by countless hundreds of Masons. 

In May, 1861 the seat of government for Canada was in Quebec City. Many Masons who were in the employ of the government and had been members of lodges in Kingston, Ontario, decided to form a lodge of their own to be designated Civil Service Lodge and that their charter would grant powers similar to those exercised by Regimental Lodges owing to the fact that the government in the 1850's and 60's moved it's headquarters every few years. 

No records have been found which would indicate exactly when the idea of forming the lodge actually began, or who initiated the thought. Accordingly, we must of necessity commence with the receipt of dispensation granted by M.W.Bro. T.D. Harington, Grand Master of The Grand Lodge of Canada, to form this new lodge. 

The evening of May 14th, 1861, in the lodge rooms in Quebec city saw the arrival of some 28 Masons. At 8:00 p.m., the lodge was opened in the First Degree with James H. Rowan, a Past Master of St. Johns Lodge, Kingston, in the chair. Rt.Wor. Brother R. Pope, D.D.G.M. (acting for the Grand Master) and the officers of Grand Lodge were received with Grand Honours.

The D.D.G.M. took the Master's chair and in time-honoured custom proceeded to Consecrate and Constitute the lodge as The Civil Service Lodge of Canada. James H. Rowan was then, after due procedure, installed as the first Worshipful Master of the new lodge. The officers were invested and the lodge closed severally in the third, second and first degree. The time: 10 p.m. Thus, the beginning . . .

Excerpted from "One Hundred Years, An Historical Outline May 1861 - May 1961", W.Bro. Philip S. Conquer, Editor. The full text of W.Bro. P.S. Conquer's history in Adobe Reader format is available here. 

A History of Civil Service Lodge No. 148 (1861-1999) by W.Bro. C.S.L. Lund in Adobe Reader format is available here. 

A Historical Extract from 'Freemasonry in the Ottawa Valley' by W.Bro. Michael Jenkyns in Adobe Reader format is available here.