Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Masonic Prince Hall African Lodge No. 459 Apron
Unknown creation date
Maker not marked
USA
Ink on leather, cotton
footprint: 13"h x 20-1/2"h with ties
Gift of Richard H. Curtis
2004.024

Masonic Prince Hall African Lodge No. 459 apron with square body and triangular flap. Bound across the top with white twill tape that extends to ties. Printed in blue on flap "African Lodge No. 459." All-seeing eye below. Printed in blue on body is a square and compasses with bow at top and sun in center. Leafy vine below.

In 2004, the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts hosted a ceremony to celebrate the 229th anniversary of Prince Hall’s initiation into Freemasonry. Prince Hall Masons from across New England gathered at Castle Island in South Boston to observe a reenactment of Prince Hall’s initiation. Participants in the ceremony wore white leather aprons bearing the name “African Lodge No. 459.” The Grand Lodge of England granted a charter for African Lodge No. 459—the first American Masonic lodge comprised entirely of Black men—in 1784.