In 2024, an abridged history of Doylestown Lodge was presented to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania as follows:

Doylestown Masonic Lodge No. 245
55 E. State Street, Doylestown, PA 18901
PA 8th Masonic District
Established 1850
Prepared & abridged by:
Bro. Alfred Paschall, P.M., 1881
Bro. Richard T. Butler, P.M., 1994
Bro. John M. Dominic, P.M., 2016

Doylestown Lodge No 245 as it is known today is actually the second Masonic Lodge in the borough of Doylestown – the county seat of Bucks Country, Pennsylvania. It was a descendant of Benevolent Lodge No. 168 which was constituted in 1829. That Lodge met at “Temperance Hall” between Church and Broad Streets for eight years, but for reasons unknown, the Lodge failed and was vacated in 1837. Without Benevolent Lodge, the need for a local Masonic meeting place persisted as the next closest Lodge was in Bristol, an arduous 30-mile trek through darkness for members in a time before electricity. Thus, on August 27th, 1850, Doylestown Lodge No. 245 was created, and the first meeting was opened by its Charter Members at 7:00 pm on Monday, September 16th, 1850 (the Monday preceding the full moon) at Temperance Hall. The Lodge was founded by William Carr of Lodge No. 195, Pennsylvania; Stephen Brock, Abraham Morris, Josiah Rich, John McIntosh & John D. James of Lodge No. 168, Pennsylvania; John William Fry of Lodge No. 2, Pennsylvania; John S. Bryan, Lodge No. 115, and Pennsylvania; and Caleb E. Wright & Jonas Ott, Lodge No. 12, New Jersey – with Brother John William Fry elected to serve as the inaugural Worshipful Master.

Doylestown received its Warrant from the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania on August 27th, 1850, and a project was formed to secure an official meeting hall as an alternative to Temperance Hall. By the end of 1850 there were 18 members and stated meetings were officially set to Friday nights. Doylestown Lodge officially purchased the current site at 55 East State Street on April 8th, 1857, originally dubbed “Beneficial Hall” for $2,545.00 which has been meeting at that location ever since January 1858. Membership grew rapidly during the Lodge’s formative years. By the 50th Anniversary, membership increased to 221 members. Members of the Lodge, averaging 30 years old, came from all walks of life: farmers, doctors, painters, lawyers and tinsmiths. Lodge records tracing back to 1900 also reflect that Doylestown Lodge prided itself on being an “industrious working organization.”

Over the next 174 years, the Lodge would grow and see many new faces and perform many projects assisting in the betterment and relief of our local Masonic community and beyond. Today, Doylestown Lodge continues its proud tradition of being an industrious working organization and the bedrock of York Rite activities across Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Currently, the Lodge has around 400 members and will celebrate its 175th Anniversary in 2025. When Doylestown Lodge was founded, the only other Masonic Body in Bucks County was in Bristol, Pennsylvania. Since 1850, Lodges were established at Newtown, Hatboro, Quakertown, Lansdale and Sellersville – all of which have drawn something from Doylestown, especially Hatboro and Newtown, as our members resigned almost in delegations in 1867 and 1868 to constitute those Lodges. In the Masonic growth that has since fostered throughout Bucks Country, Doylestown has a just claim to the work accomplished by these sister Lodges. Notably, Doylestown Lodge is also unique in that it has become home to the other York Rite Masonic groups within the county, including Doylestown Royal Arch Chapter No 270, Cryptic Council No 51, Mizpah Commandery No 96, and the Order of Eastern Star No 327.

Charitable donations have been a hallmark of the Lodge in times of war and peace. Doylestown has contributed donations and relief from events such as the Great Chicago Fire in the 1800s, to donating Liberty Bonds in WWI and WWII, including numerous disaster relief initiatives, local scholarships and community events (notably the Travis Manion 9/11 Heroes Run), down to helping local families who need support over the holidays. Today, the Lodge currently contributes around $10,000 annually to charity, while many members also personally support the Shriners Hospital, Scottish Rite Children’s Dyslexia Centers, Masonic Retirement Homes and other Freemason-led charities through Doylestown’s appendant bodies. The Lodge also supports its local community by hosting Red Cross Blood Drives as well as participating in the Doylestown Memorial Day Parade – the nation’s oldest continuously running parade.

There have been many members who have contributed to the continually high standards of work which Doylestown Lodge prides itself on. Recently, many names stand out as pillars of Masonic strength and support, notably Bros. Ralph E. Wagner, Robert D. Fighera, Jr., and Grant L. Sergeant each of whom had spent their lifetimes training generations of new members and officers in the ways of the Craft. In the last 20 years, Doylestown also supported the mission of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania through the dedicated efforts of Bros. Carl L. Swope and Richard H. Bradbury, Sr., who served as District Deputy Grand Masters of the 8th Masonic District of which Doylestown is a member. Yet among all of the Brethren who came before, there are three original members to whom the Lodge is under deepest gratitude: Bros. John William Fry, William Carr, and Hiram Lukens. Bro. John W. Fry was the first Worshipful Master and during his lifetime of service was an ardent and devoted craftsman and an indefatigable worker until his passing in 1860. Bro. William Carr was the first Secretary and gave valuable service in that office until 1860. Bro. Hiram Lukens was Lodge Secretary for over thirty-nine years. He lived Masonry. The Lodge was his family, the members were his nearest associates. He died November 20th, 1897, and was buried in Doylestown Cemetery with the ceremonies of Masonry and in the presence of a great number of the Brethren. The work of these three brethren performed for love of the Craft is inestimable if not incalculable in the beneficent influences exerted upon and for the Lodge.

Today, we echo the same sentiments of these esteemed Brethren who founded Doylestown Lodge No 245 nearly 175 years ago. What the Lodge has been we are aware, but what it may become God only knows. Yet we persist in our Fraternal duties with optimism knowing that if we are united, our Fraternity must flourish.