Dale Masonic Lodge in Camden was once one of Alabama's 'moon lodges'

Dale Masonic Lodge in Camden, Ala.

Yesterday – Wednesday, Dec. 20 – marked the 196^th anniversary of the founding of Dale Masonic Lodge No. 25 in Camden.

According to the Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Alabama, Dale Masonic Lodge No. 25 was founded on Dec. 20, 1827 in what was then called Dale Town, a community that later became known as Prairie Bluff. Dale Town, which was located on a high bluff on the west side of the Alabama River north of the present-day Miller’s Ferry Bridge, was named after early Alabama pioneer Samuel Dale. Known as the “Daniel Boone of Alabama,” Dale died in May 1841 in Mississippi.

Records reflect that Thomas Bivin Creagh, a prominent early Alabama Freemason, served as the first Worshipful Master of Dale Lodge when it was officially organized in 1827. From there, Creagh went on to serve as the Grand Master of the Alabama Grand Lodge in 1828, 1829 and 1830, and it’s said that he is the only Grand Master to serve in that position for three consecutive years. Creagh passed away at the age of 73 in March 1842 and was buried in the Creagh-Glover Cemetery near Catherine.

Dale Town (sometimes spelled “Daletown”) started to decline in the 1840s, not long after the county seat was moved from Canton Bend to Barboursville, which was renamed Camden in 1841. During the 1840s, the members of Dale Lodge voted to move their lodge to Camden, where the lodge remains today at the intersection of Broad Street and Clifton Street. Sources say that the cornerstone of this majestic building was laid in November 1848, which was about a decade before the Wilcox County Courthouse was built.

Even though the lodge moved to Camden in the 1840s, the earliest reference that I could find to “Dale Lodge” in back issues of The Progressive Era was in the May 18, 1887 edition of the paper. That paper listed the names of the lodge’s principal officers. Those men included Worshipful Master R.C. Jones, Senior Warden Jno. S. Hunter, Junior Warden R.E. McWilliams, Treasurer N. McArthur, Secretary T.S. Caldwell, Senior Deacon J.B. Christian, Junior Deacon W.S. Bonham, Chaplain E. Moore and Tyler J.P. Dannelly.

That week’s paper also mentioned that the lodge’s regular meetings were conducted on the Friday on or before the full moon of each month. This raised a red flag with me because this means that the lodge was once what was known as a “moon lodge.” Harkening back to the days before electric lights, when men had to travel dark roads by foot, horse or wagon, to and from lodge meetings, “moon lodges” like the one at Camden met on nights dictated by the full moon.

There were many lodges of this type in Alabama at one time, but with the advent of electric lights, they all faded away. To date, there is only one “moon lodge” left in all of Alabama. That would be Blacksher Masonic Lodge No. 593, which is located at Uriah in southern Monroe County.

In the end, Dale Lodge currently meets on the third Monday of each month. This means that at some point it stopped being a moon lodge, probably many years ago. If anyone in the audience knows when the lodge discontinued this practice, please let me know.