Welcome to St. Mark's Lodge No. 7

St. Mark's History
St. Mark's has been a part of the Columbus community for over 150 years. Read our extrodinary history.

Past Masters
Men have been chosen to lead the Lodge since 1852. We pay tribute to those Brethren for their dedication.

Prince Hall History
Read about our founder Prince Hall and this amazing fraternity that has been in existence for over 225 years..

Well Known African-American Freemasons
A few famous Brothers that you may have heard of.

Words from the East...

"We are not Brothers because we hope to be but because we already are: we are not Brothers because we desire to be, but because we must be."
H.L. Haywood - The Newly-Made Mason

The first stated communication of St. Mark's Lodge No. 7 was held on January 16, 1852. The Grand Master at that time was M. W. William Darnes, who granted the Brethren permission to create the first Prince Hall Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, in the city of Columbus. St. Mark's was the fourth Prince Hall Lodge founded in the State of Ohio, (the lodge numbers were consecutive for only the first three lodges due to other lodges being warranted outside the State by the Grand Lodge of Ohio.) The first principle officers of St. Mark's were; Charles Langston, Worshipful Master, David Jenkins, Senior Warden and Hanson Johnson, Junior Warden. Bro. Langston and Bro. Jenkins were both involved in the early abolitionist movement in Ohio. Bro. Jenkins served as President of the Black state convention held in Columbus, Ohio in 1851, and Bro. Langston served as its secretary. Both men advocated the end of slavery and equal rights for all African-Americans.
To understand and appreciate the accomplishments of our early brethren, you must place the creation of our lodge into a historical context. Columbus in the mid-nineteenth century had approximately 1,277 Blacks in the city. During that time, many African-Americans were engaged as laborers, barbers, cooks and waiters. One of the reasons why Blacks settled in Columbus before 1850 was the relative security of its central location. From its inception, St. Mark's members played a role in the development of the Grand Lodge of Ohio.
One early brother of note was Bro. John H. Bowles who served as Worshipful Master in 1893. He served the Grand Lodge as Senior Grand Warden, Grand Lecturer, Grand Representative and Deputy Grand Master. Many of the early brethren served on various committees of The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Ohio. These early Brothers started a trend that would be continued even to this day, St. Mark's commitment to its Grand Lodge.
Good men have always been attracted to the Lodge. A look at the roster of our membership over the years may be compared to a who's who list of Columbus. Two early individuals who were on both lists were Bro. Hanson Johnson and Bro. J.J. Lee. Bro. Johnson served as Worshipful Master from 1871-1873. Past Master Johnson was a barber and he was said to be the wealthiest Black community member in Columbus in 1860. Bro. Lee was the Worshipful Master in 1904. Past Master Lee was one of the first Blacks elected to a public office in Columbus; he served on the Columbus Board of Education. One of the greatest accomplishments that our Brethren achieved was the building of our Masonic temple. The building was completed and the Lodge room was dedicated on Jan. 15, 1927, 75 years after our Lodge was founded. At the time of its construction, our lodge hall was the first newly constructed Masonic temple in Ohio. During the 1950s, our membership reached an all time high with 630 Brothers on our roster.
We are proud to have four members who served this Jurisdiction as its Most Worshipful Grand Master: Bro. John C. Logan, Bro. A. J. Worsham, Bro. K. Kenneth Williams and Bro. Fredrick E. Kelly, Sr. All of these men served with both dignity and pride. Since St. Mark's was charted, there have been 111 Worshipful Masters. We take pride in our accomplishments both as Masons and as men. We are one of the oldest organizations in the Columbus community. We understand that we have a history that is to be revered and enhanced.