The Birth of a Grand Lodge: The Struggle for Recognition in Indian Territory

By T.S. Akers

 

This article was originally published in Issue No. 24 of the Rocky Mountain Mason.

In August of 1999, Patrick D. Murphy slit the throat and mutilated the body of George Jacobs, the ex-husband of his partner Patsy Jacobs, along a country road in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma. Murphy was convicted of first-degree murder by a McIntosh County jury in 2000 and sentenced to death. In 2004 Murphy appealed his conviction arguing that the State of Oklahoma lacked jurisdiction to prosecute him, Murphy was a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the Major Crimes Act gives the federal government exclusive jurisdiction over murders committed by Indians in Indian Country.[1] This presented a new question before the court, what land is Indian Country? The case in time morphed into an issue of tribal sovereignty, something the Muscogee (Creek) Nation took an active interest in. As the appeal proceeded it made its way to the Tenth Circuit Court in 2017 where it was found that Congress had never disestablished the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Reservation as set forth by the 1866 Treaty of Washington, a punitive treaty imposed on the Creek Nation owing to its alliance with the Confederacy.[2] The Murphy case would eventually arrive before the United States Supreme Court in 2018, but Justice Neil Gorsuch had recused himself owing to his seat on the bench when the case was before the Tenth Circuit Court. Gorsuch’s recusal resulted in a split decision and a substitute case was identified in McGirt v. Oklahoma, another instance where the defendant claimed the state lacked jurisdiction over a Muscogee (Creek) citizen.[3] On July 9, 2020, with all justices present, the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision, finding that for the purposes of the Major Crimes Act, land reserved for the Creek Nation since the nineteenth century remains “Indian country.”[4] While it may have taken over one hundred years since Oklahoma statehood in 1907, the jurisdictional recognition of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and the other tribes that comprise the Five Tribes, is not a new story. Indeed, as Freemasonry began to spread across the Indian Territory, giving birth to a Grand Lodge, recognition of that new grand body by other jurisdictions was not immediate.

 

The bounds of the Indian Territory, as they appeared in 1898 and were confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020.

(Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division)

Freemasonry arrived in what would become Oklahoma in 1824 when Colonel Matthew Arbuckle, a Mason, established Fort Gibson at the confluence of the Grand and Arkansas Rivers, in order to maintain peace between the Osage and Cherokees who would cross into Osage country from Arkansas.[5] The first full scale emigration of the Five Tribes occurred in 1827 when roughly 700 Creeks led by Chilly McIntosh made their way west in the wake of the Treaty of Indian Springs. Known as the McIntosh Party for their support of Chief William McIntosh in his ceding of Creek lands for land west of the Mississippi, these Creeks settled in the Three Forks area near Fort Gibson.[6] The Western or Old Settler Cherokees were removed from Arkansas the following year.[7] It is estimated that the Indian Removal Act of 1830 would see over 58,000 members of the Five Tribes either emigrate or be forcibly removed to the Indian Territory. The 1839 Act of Union brought together the Western Cherokees, formerly of Arkansas, and the recently removed Cherokees as the Cherokee Nation, establishing their capital at Tahlequah.[8] It was here on November 9, 1848, that Cherokee Lodge No. 21 was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Arkansas. The members of Cherokee Lodge were granted land by the Cherokee National Council for their first permanent lodge hall in 1852. They erected a two-story structure within a year, which was shared with the Sons of Temperance.[9] Additional Lodges, with primarily indigenous membership, that were chartered included Choctaw Lodge No. 52, Flint Lodge No. 74, and Muscogee Lodge No. 93.[10]

The Civil War would interrupt Freemasonry in the Indian Territory and it was particularly devastating to the region. An anonymous writer for the Indian Journal recalled the situation in 1878, writing:

At the close of the war families were again gathered together only to find their farms, desolate, their homes burned, their fences destroyed, their fields overrun with weeds, their church and school buildings even burned.[11]

All of the Five Tribes became embroiled in the conflict and Masonic activity in the region ceased. The proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas make note of lodges being destroyed as Federal troops moved through that state.[12] The lodges of Indian Territory were carried on the rolls of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas through the Civil War, though no dues payments or annual reports were being sent to Arkansas. By 1865, the Indian Territory lodges were considered to be in default. To remedy this, they were required to provide copies of their charters, to prove they still existed, and remit their outstanding dues by June 1, 1866, or their charters would be withdrawn. Having received no response by the given date, the Grand Lodge of Arkansas withdrew the charters of Cherokee, Choctaw, and Muscogee Lodges in 1867.[13] 

At a settlement known as Boggy Depot, Freemasonry sprang to life again in the Indian Territory with the establishment of Oklahoma Lodge No. 217 by the Grand Lodge of Arkansas in 1868. This was done under the direction of the Baptist Missionary Joseph S. Murrow, who would go on to be a charter member of the first of numerous Masonic orders in the Indian Territory, including Indian Chapter No. 1 of Royal Arch Masons at McAlester, Oklahoma Council No. 1 of Royal and Select Masters at Atoka, and Muskogee Commandery No. 1 of Knights Templar.[14] The other Lodges that existed prior to the Civil War began to function as well. Cherokee Lodge No. 21 attempted to put its affairs in order with the Grand Lodge of Arkansas in 1870, but their request for reinstatement was denied under the premise that their lodge number had been reassigned and no further attempts to regain a charter from Arkansas were made. The Brethren of Choctaw Lodge No. 52 at Doaksville near Fort Towson received a new charter to operate as Doaksville Lodge No. 279 in 1871. Caddo Lodge No. 311 was another new lodge in the Choctaw Nation, chartered in 1873. The Brethren of Flint Lodge No. 74, who had moved their charter to Wilsonville, Arkansas, during the War, returned to the Cherokee Nation in October of 1873.[15] Muscogee Lodge had reconvened in the second story of a mercantile operated by a member at Eufaula.[16] The Brethren labored diligently until early 1874 when they journeyed to Little Rock, Arkansas, to make payment for all accounts due and insure their charter was valid.[17] Unfortunately, Muscogee Lodge’s original number had been reassigned by the Grand Lodge of Arkansas and a new charter was issued as Muscogee Lodge No. 90.[18] This is interesting as Cherokee Lodge was denied reinstatement owing to their lodge number being reassigned. Cherokee Lodge Historian George W. Moser speculated that the true reason for the denial was owing to large factions of Cherokees supporting the Union during the Civil War.[19]

The Worshipful Master of Caddo Lodge No. 311 in 1874 was a printer named Granville McPherson. He had taken the degrees of Freemasonry in Arkansas and had helped to organize the Scottish Rite bodies at Little Rock. With there being six lodges chartered in the Indian Territory, he felt the time was right to organize a grand lodge.[20] McPherson’s own grand jurisdiction of Arkansas was itself formed from just three lodges in 1838.[21] He first wrote to Alpha Lodge No. 122 located at Fort Gibson, which had been chartered by Kansas, and they rejected the idea of forming a grand lodge. Similarly, Oklahoma Lodge No. 217 and Flint Lodge No. 74, both chartered by Arkansas, were not interested in forming a grand lodge. Without consulting the Grand Lodges of Kansas or Arkansas, McPherson proceeded and on October 5, 1874, the representatives of Muscogee Lodge No. 90, Doaksville Lodge No. 279, and Caddo Lodge No. 311 met in Caddo to form the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory, with McPherson as Grand Master.[22] The formation of the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory was duly announced by dispatching copies of the proceedings to every Grand Lodge in the United States and Territories, as well as Canada, Nova Scotia, and Mexico.[23] It appears that the august occasion may not have been news to the Grand Master of Arkansas though. Joseph S. Murrow of Oklahoma Lodge No. 217 was opposed to the formation of a grand lodge and had called for the Grand Master to intervene. Based on the lack of action, it appears that Murrow’s plea was ignored.[24]

 

Seal of the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory.

While Oklahoma Lodge No. 217 did not participate in forming the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory, it willingly joined with that grand jurisdiction on May 12, 1875, as Oklahoma Lodge No. 4.[25] It is possible that their senior statesmen, Joseph S. Murrow, precipitated this move owing to the lack of action by the Grand Master of Arkansas to prevent the formation of the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory. Either way, bringing the remaining two lodges in the Indian Territory into the fold and securing recognition by other grand lodges would not prove as easy, even though Grand Master McPherson believed otherwise, stating:

Not quite twelve months ago three of the Subordinate Lodges of the Indian Territory, believing it to be for the good of Masonry, met in convention at Caddo, Choctaw Nation, formed a Constitution, organized a Grand Lodge, and asked recognition of the Sister Grand Lodges.

 

It is with pleasure I am able to make the announcement that nearly all the Grand Lodges which have met since then have formally recognized and cordially welcomed us into the Grand Masonic sisterhood. Those that have not will doubtless do so in their own good time; when we have proved ourselves worthy of it.[26]

The proceedings for 1875 do not specifically mention what grand lodges had recognized Indian Territory, but both Wyoming and Manitoba had applied to Indian Territory for recognition, which the young grand lodge was eager to grant.[27] With two lodges within the jurisdiction not willing to align with the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory, there were signs of the challenges to come. McPherson seems to have recognized this and went on in his address to say:

The Grand Lodges of the United States, and of the whole world, will take a deeper interest in us than has ever been manifested for any Grand Body within the limits of the Great Republic; from the fact that we are the first Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ever organized by the aborigines of North America. Many, who are ignorant of the situation of affairs in this country, will look upon us with grave doubts and misgivings; while others, more familiar with us and our advanced stage of civilization, will watch us closely, though at the same time feel confident of our ability to sustain ourselves in the proud position we have assumed. It but remains for us, brethren, to do our duty, prove ourselves worthy of the confidence, and finally win a high place in the noble sisterhood of Grand Lodges.[28]

The 1866 reconstruction treaties required that the tribes grant right of way for railroads through the Indian Territory and by 1872 the MK&T Railway Co. had finished its line from the Kansas border to the Red River.[29] This of course brought white settlement into the Territory, perhaps the advanced stage of civilization that McPherson referred to, albeit a statement with a certain racial tone. It is important to note that the Five Tribes had long governed themselves with their own executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation for example had a bicameral legislature with a House of Kings and a House of Warriors.[30]

To the preeminent Oklahoma Masonic Historian Charles E. Creager, race was a reason why other grand lodges were slow to provide recognition to Indian Territory. History has shown that the indigenous peoples of North America have frequently been viewed as inferior. Writing in 1935, he said:

The Indians were misunderstood and unappreciated. True, where Indian Masons were known, they were respected and honored. The Eastern and Southern and Northern Masons had not enjoyed the opportunity of meeting such men. So a Grand Lodge in an Indian country, composed largely of ‘savages,’ and ‘heathen,’ and ‘barbarians’ was next to unthinkable by the staid dignitaries of such Grand Lodges as Maine and Maryland.[31]

Joseph S. Murrow, who became Grand Master of Indian Territory in 1877, had spent a considerable amount of time in the Indian Territory as a Baptist missionary. Being intimately acquainted with the Indian Masons, he knew there was another troublesome element, remarking:

There is a class of reckless white adventurers in this Territory. Some of these have perhaps been Masons somewhere, perhaps expelled, at best irregular and unreliable. These are troubling our lodges no little.[32]

Imposters among the Craft in Indian Territory were certainly an issue of concern. At Caddo in the Choctaw Nation, a man by the name of Isaac W. Stone, a supposed veteran of the Civil War who had lost a leg, had become acquainted with several members of Caddo Lodge in 1875. He had introduced himself as a Master Mason, though he was not attending lodge. Having been rejected by Acacia lodge in his former home of Lawrence, Kansas, allegedly due to the missing leg, Stone joined The Far West Lodge of Masons.[33] A newspaper clipping indicates this to be a “colored,” presumably Prince Hall Lodge.[34] Stone was introduced to Granville McPherson, Grand Master and a member of Caddo Lodge, and described The Far West Lodge to McPherson as a member of King Solomon’s Lodge. McPherson indicated he had no objection to Stone visiting Caddo Lodge, which he did, passing the test oath. Stone ultimately obtained a demit and affiliated with Caddo Lodge. Acacia Lodge of Kansas learned of all this through one of their former members, now residing at Caddo, and informed the Brethren of Caddo Lodge that The Far West Lodge was clandestine (by nineteenth century standards). A report of the incident soon appeared in the Masonic Review of Ohio, so the Masonic world at the time was aware of it. Stone’s name was dropped from the roll of Caddo Lodge, though he argued that his being accepted as a member healed his irregularities. Grand Master Murrow ultimately upheld that Caddo Lodge took the appropriate action.[35]

 

The Reverend Joseph S. Murrow, Grand Master of Masons (1877-1878).

(From the collections of the McAlester Scottish Rite)

 

The proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory note that by 1876 they had received recognition from eighteen grand lodges and some of the British possessions.[36] There were of course only thirty-eight states in the Union at this time, but recognition had come from the important jurisdiction to the south, Texas, in June.[37] However, there were two important neighboring jurisdictions, Kansas and Arkansas, that had not yet granted recognition. This delay was due to disputes between the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory and the two lodges still holding charters from Kansas and Arkansas. A resolution had been adopted in 1876 by Indian Territory arresting the charters of Flint Lodge No. 74 (Arkansas) and Alpha Lodge No. 122 (Kansas) and declaring them clandestine for not joining with the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory, an altogether bold move as Indian Territory had no real authority to do so.[38] In correspondence with the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory, Flint Lodge inquired as to how they could join with that jurisdiction, but noted that they had no right to surrender their Arkansas charter to Indian Territory.[39] The Grand Lodge of Arkansas had discussed recognizing Indian Territory in 1876 but chose to allow the resolution to layover a year. When the matter was taken up again in October of 1877, it was noted that:

Most of the American Grand Lodges have recognized the Grand Lodge of the Indian Territory; others express their intention to wait and see what the Grand Lodge of Arkansas will do.

 

The only argument that we have seen against the regularity of the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory, is presented by Brother Brown of Kansas.[40]

The argument by John H. Brown, the Kansas Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Correspondence, is an interesting one indeed. He asserted that the Indian Territory was “composed of several minor parts of country separated by established metes and bounds, each of these being granted to a certain distinct Indian tribe.” Brown went on to argue that if each tribe is a Nation, then as sovereign Nations they cannot be grouped together as one Indian Territory.[41] One need only look to correspondence from the period to see Brown’s point of view. Letters were regularly addressed as originating from “Eufaula, Creek Nation” or “Caddo, Choctaw Nation.” While Kansas still had legitimate concerns over the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory around Alpha Lodge, the Grand Lodge of Arkansas did vote in favor of granting recognition to Indian Territory in 1877. Flint Lodge soon returned its charter to the Grand Lodge of Arkansas for endorsement and joined with Indian Territory.[42]

For the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory, obtaining recognition from Kansas was going to be a more difficult nut to crack. The three lodges that had formed the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory - Muscogee, Doaksville, and Caddo - had all been chartered by Arkansas. Flint Lodge, which had come under fire due to Indian Territory’s jurisdictional dispute, was also an Arkansas lodge. However, the remaining lodge in Indian Territory not yet brought into the fold, Alpha Lodge at Fort Gibson, was a Kansas lodge. Naturally, the members of Alpha Lodge were not pleased to learn that the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory had declared them clandestine for not surrendering their Kansas charter. Writing to the Grand Lodge of Kansas in 1876, it was determined that Alpha Lodge would continue to adhere to that grand jurisdiction as Kansas chose not to recognize Indian Territory.[43] Alpha Lodge itself, under the leadership of their Worshipful Master Patrick J. Byrne, adopted a resolution addressing the status of the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory, reading in part:

This Lodge desires to cultivate none but fraternal feelings and to comply with each and all of its duties in the premises, but it adheres to its original position on the subject of the formation of the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory. It believes it unnecessary and inexpedient on account of the reasons already stated. The Indian Territory, so-called, is no State or Territory of the United States, in the technical sense of the term. 

 

The Worshipful Grand Master of the Grand Lodge established, has, we are informed, no legal status as a citizen of Indian country, and is liable, in common with some other officers of that Lodge, to be removed beyond its limits, at any time by the direction of the President of the United States…[44]

The following year, Kansas doubled down on its opinion concerning Indian Territory, with John H. Brown stating they would continue to exercise jurisdiction over Alpha Lodge until a legally organized grand lodge is established within the territory of the Cherokee Nation.[45] The argument that Indian Territory was not one individual territory, but a group of territories persisted. Understanding that this ongoing dispute could derail the efforts of those men working to establish the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory on the world stage, Grand Master Joseph S. Murrow took action after assuming office in 1877. He quickly rescinded the original resolution passed that declared Flint and Alpha Lodges clandestine.[46] Viewing this action for what it was, an apology, Byrne wrote to the Grand Master of Kansas, John Guthrie, asking for permission for Alpha Lodge to be represented at the coming annual communication of the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory, which was granted. Finally, on October 17, 1878, the Grand Lodge of Kansas elected to recognize the jurisdiction of Indian Territory and granted permission for Alpha Lodge, which now desired to do so, to join with Indian Territory.[47] Patrick J. Byrne, Past Master of Alpha Lodge and a native of Ireland, would succeed Joseph S. Murrow as Grand Master in 1879.[48]

The Grand Lodge of Indian Territory, in efforts to bolster its fraternal standing, continued to recognize and extend fraternal relations to other grand jurisdictions. In 1881 the Grand Lodge of New South Wales was granted recognition.[49] A recent addition to the Masonic landscape of Indian Territory was Capitular Masonry with the first Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, Indian Chapter, being established at McAlester in 1878.[50] When the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory convened in 1889, Companions present representing the now five Royal Arch Chapters of Indian Territory discussed forming a Grand Chapter and prepared the appropriate petition to be made to the General Grand Chapter. The General Grand High Priest, Noble D. Larner, flatly refused to consider the petition from the Companions of Indian Territory.[51] Even with all the progress that had been made, the Masons of Indian Territory were still being looked down upon. Joseph S. Murrow journeyed to the triennial convocation of the General Grand Chapter at Atlanta, Georgia, in November of 1889 to advocate for a charter to form a grand chapter. In Atlanta, issues of clandestine Masons in Indian Territory were being discussed as to why a charter should not be granted. There was the case of Isaac W. Stone at Caddo Lodge, but also another involving a Jeff C. Johnson at Elm Springs Lodge. Johnson was admitted to membership in Elm Springs Lodge by a petition of affiliation, but no demit accompanied the petition to prove from whence he came, an error on the part of Elm Springs Lodge that briefly resulted in the suspension of their charter.[52] One Companion at the triennial convocation even remarked, “…the ethical tendencies of the Masons out in that wild country, hardly commend them to membership in such a Body as this.”[53] Murrow, denied an audience with the Committee on Charters and Dispensations, took to the convocation floor to plead the case for Capitular Masonry in Indian Territory. Before the entire gathering of Royal Arch Masons, Murrow stood and addressed the Companions thus:

Capitular Masonry has not grown apace with our Symbolic Lodges in Indian Territory, because you are too far away, you have so little sympathy with us, you do not care to understand us and our problems. We might have grown if there had been some source of encouragement to organize Chapters and keep them going. All the interest this General Grand Chapter seems to have in us lies in the amount of our remittances in dues! And, pardon me, Companions, if I speak frankly, you do not seem to offer us much for what we pay! I do not lay the charge at your door, but it is possible that there are some here who are calculating enough to observe that as a subordinate Chapters, we are paying fifty cents per member per year! While you Grand Chapters pay one cent per member per year! And I submit in the name of justice and right, that we have not received fifty times as much benefit as you have! Nay, Companions, we receive very, very little![54]

Murrow continued to drive his point home citing the amount of money paid to the General Grand Chapter by Indian Territory in comparison to Grand Chapters across the United States with far more members. Once Murrow had concluded, none other than John H. Brown of Kansas, who had previously opposed the recognition of the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory, rose and recommended that the several Chapters of Indian Territory be authorized to form a Grand Chapter. Only the chairman of the Committee on Charters and Dispensations voted against Indian Territory. The Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Indian Territory was formally instituted on February 15, 1890.[55]

By the 1890s, Indian Territory was distancing itself from the lawless place it had been described as for some time. The Choctaw Nation that Charles Portis’ Rooster Cogburn set out into to bring Tom Chaney to justice was becoming a memory. Storefronts in cities such as Eufaula and McAlester were more often stone and brick rather than wood and canvas. The year 1889 saw the establishment of the federal court at Muskogee, a jurisdiction previously overseen by Fort Smith.[56] In November of 1892, Grand Master Leo Bennett presided over a convention in Oklahoma City for the formation of a Grand Lodge of Oklahoma Territory.[57] Exercising that level of control over the subordinate lodges and at the same time encouraging them to form a new jurisdiction in a newly established territory is probably the manner in which the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory should have been formed, a manner that may have prevented the issues with gaining recognition. In 1893 the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory received a beautiful token from the Grand Lodge of Ireland. In addition to receiving recognition as a legitimate grand lodge, nineteen years after being formed, the Grand Lodge of Ireland appointed John Coyle as their representative near the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory. Coyle, a native of Scotland, was presented an impressive grand representative jewel, which has since been deposited with the McAlester Scottish Rite Valley. Coyle became Grand Master of Indian Territory in 1894.[58] While the way it was born caused considerable consternation among some grand jurisdictions, the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory proved itself worthy in time. It continued to do so through statehood in Oklahoma in 1907, culminating with the successful merger of the Grand Lodges of Indian and Oklahoma Territories to form the Grand Lodge of the State of Oklahoma in 1909.

Representative to the Grand Lodge of Ireland jewel presented to John Coyle, 1893.

(From the collections of the McAlester Scottish Rite)

---

[1]  Murphy v. Royal, No. 07-7068 (10th Cir. 2017).

[2]  Murphy v. Royal.

[3]  Adam Liptak, “Supreme Court to Rule on Whether Much of Oklahoma Is an Indian Reservation,” The New York Times, last modified December 13, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/13/us/supreme-court-oklahoma-indian-reservation.html.

[4]  McGirt v. Oklahoma, 591 U.S. ___ (2020).

[5]  Brad Agnew, “Fort Gibson,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, accessed August 17, 2020, http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=FO033.

[6]  Christopher D. Haveman, “With Great Difficulty and Labour: The Emigration of the McIntosh Party of Creek Indians, 1827-1828,” The Chronicles of Oklahoma  85, no. 4 (2007-2008): 474-479. 

[7]  “Removal of Tribes to Oklahoma,” The Oklahoma Historical Society, accessed August 17, 2020, http://www.okhistory.org/research/airemoval.

[8]  Rennard Strickland, “Cherokee,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, accessed August 17, 2020, http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=CH014.

[9]  George W. Moser, “Cherokee Lodge No. 10, A.F. & A.M.,” in Oklahoma Lodge of Research Vol. XI ed. Larry W. Snow (Guthrie: Oklahoma Lodge of Research, 1989), 11.

[10]  Charles E. Creager, History of Freemasonry in Oklahoma (Muskogee: Muskogee Print Shop, 1935), 20-28.

[11]  Indian Journal (Muskogee and Eufaula, Indian Territory), May 1, 1878.

[12]  Proceedings of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge F&AM of the State of Arkansas (Little Rock: 1856-1862).

[13]  Proceedings of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge F&AM of the State of Arkansas (Little Rock: 1865-1867).

[14]  “Joseph Samuel Murrow,” in Grand Masters of Oklahoma (Guthrie: Oklahoma Lodge of Research, 1975), 9.

[15]  Moser, 13-15.

[16]  “Eufaula Masonic Lodge:  Oldest in Oklahoma,” The Indian Journal, 2 March 1922, p. 3

[17]   “Eufaula Masonic Lodge #1:  Sesquicentennial Anniversary,” The Indian Journal, Spring Expo 2005, p. 19.

[18]  J. Fred Latham, The Story of Oklahoma Masonry (Guthrie: Grand Lodge of Oklahoma, 1978), 10-11.

[19]  Moser, 14.

[20]  Latham, 18-19.

[21]  Creager, 41.

[22]  Latham, 21-21.

[23]  Proceedings of the M.: W.: Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of the Indian Territory: First Annual Communication (Caddo, I.T., 1875).

[24]  Latham, 22.

[25]  Latham, 22.

[26]  Proceedings of the M.: W.: Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of the Indian Territory: First Annual Communication.

[27]  Ibid.

[28]  Ibid.

[29]  Augustus J. Veenendaal, Jr., “Railroads,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, accessed August 24, 2020, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=RA004.

[30]  "Muscogee (Creek) Nation Council House," Muskogee (Creek) Nation Cultural Center, accessed August 24, 2020, http://creekculturalcenter.com/2014/05/muscogee-creek-nation-council-house/.

[31]  Creager, 79.

[32]  Creager, 89.

[33]  Proceedings of the M.: W.: Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of the Indian Territory: Fourth Annual Communication (St. Louis, 1878).

[34]  “Festival – The Far West Lodge of Masons (colored),” The Daily Kansas Tribune (Lawrence, Kansas), May 12, 1869.

[35]  Proceedings of the M.: W.: Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of the Indian Territory: Fourth Annual Communication.

[36]  Proceedings of the M.: W.: Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of the Indian Territory: Second Annual Communication (Memphis, 1876).

[37]  Creager, 80.

[38]  Proceedings of the M.: W.: Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of the Indian Territory: Second Annual Communication.

[39]  Proceedings of the M.: W.: Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of the Indian Territory: Third Annual Communication (Memphis, 1877).

[40]  Latham, 30.

[41]  Ibid., 30-31.

[42]  Proceedings of the M.: W.: Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of the Indian Territory: Fourth Annual Communication.

[43]  Latham, 26.

[44]  Ibid., 27-28.

[45]  Ibid., 34-35.

[46]  Proceedings of the M.: W.: Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of the Indian Territory: Fourth Annual Communication.

[47]  Latham, 39-40.

[48]  “Patrick J. Byrne,” in Grand Masters of Oklahoma (Guthrie: Oklahoma Lodge of Research, 1975), 11.

[49]  Proceedings of the M.: W.: Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of the Indian Territory: Seventh Annual Communication (Sedalia, 1881).

[50]  Creager, 62.

[51]  Ibid., 71.

[52]  Latham, 66-70.

[53]  Creager, 72.

[54]  Ibid., 73.

[55]  Ibid., 74-75.

[56]  Dianna Everett, “Indian Territory,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, accessed August 24, 2020, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entryname=INDIAN%20TERRITORY.

[57]  Proceedings of the M.: W.: Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of the Indian Territory: Nineteenth Annual Communication (Muskogee, 1893).

[58]  “John Coyle,” in Grand Masters of Oklahoma (Guthrie: Oklahoma Lodge of Research, 1975), 19.

Keokuk Falls: An Infamous Town and Masonic Aid on the Oklahoma Territory Border

By T.S. Akers

On the morning of November 3, 1832, the writer Washington Irving and his party crossed the North Canadian River near natural falls in present day Pottawatomie County.[1] Irving’s journey across the Indian Territory was published in 1835 as A Tour on the Prairies. Those familiar with the North Canadian River today may be quick to remark that there are no natural falls on its course, but the Indian Territory that Washington Irving experienced was often vastly different from what we call Oklahoma today. Irving also encountered herds of bison and Carolina parakeets; the parakeets are now extinct, and the bison were nearly made so as well.

 

The natural falls on the North Canadian River from which Keokuk Falls drew its name. 

(From the volume Pottawatomie County Oklahoma History)

Following the creation of the Oklahoma Territory in 1890, the Sac and Fox Reservation was established on September 22, 1891, situated on the edge of the Indian Territory. A town was also platted in the area in 1891, just one mile east of the Muscogee Nation and one mile north of the Seminole Nation. The town was christened Keokuk Falls for Chief Moses Keokuk of the Sac and Fox Nation. Because of Keokuk Falls location at the entrance of the Muscogee and Seminole Nations, it was ideal for moving alcohol into the “dry” Indian Territory. A floating bridge quickly replaced a ferry in order to cross the North Canadian at the falls, which were two or three feet in height.[2]

Keokuk Falls quickly became infamous as one of the “liquor towns” on the Oklahoma Territory border. In addition to the various establishments that would typically come to occupy a town, Keokuk Falls also had three hotels, two distilleries, and seven saloons. The first saloon to open was the Black Dog, which was followed by the Red Front, and an intense rivalry developed between the two. Keokuk Falls soon began to be known as the home of the “seven deadly saloons.” The rivalry between the first two saloons grew so violent that it resulted in several deaths in 1904 and the closing of four of the other saloons.[3] Referring to Keokuk Falls in 1905, The Shawnee News said, “That portion of Pottawatomie County is credited with more murders, assaults, and unwarranted assassinations than any other place in Oklahoma.”[4]

Whilst the town of Keokuk Falls had no church, it apparently boasted anywhere from four to six preachers, clearly hoping to save the residents’ souls. There were also ten doctors, who must have been in demand. Although there was no lawman, the town did have a justice of the peace. It is also noted that there was a “coffin factory” in Keokuk Falls, presumably necessitated by the violence.[5] For all its problems, some of the better citizens of Keokuk Falls were clearly trying to improve the community as a Masonic Lodge was granted a dispensation to operate on February 3, 1900. What became Keokuk Lodge No. 50, AF&AM was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Oklahoma Territory the following year.[6] Seeking an end to the lawlessness, a group of Keokuk Fall’s leading citizens appealed to territorial governor T.B. Ferguson in 1905. The governor directed the Attorney General to take charge of the grand jury at Tecumseh and prosecute those engaging in the unruliness. The threat of the law likely had little impact on the unsavory elements at Keokuk Falls; the governor’s additional threat of sending the National Guard may have been a little weightier.[7]

The office of Dr. Harvey D. Owen at Keokuk Falls.

(Courtesy of Dana Christian)

A thirty-five-year-old physician named Harvey D. Owen was among the citizens who appealed to the governor for help in Pottawatomie County.[8] Owen had been born in Lebanon, Tennessee, in 1870.[9] He married Susan Pauline McGehee on November 13, 1899, whilst residing in Greenwood, Arkansas.[10] By February of 1901, the Owens had moved to Keokuk Falls where Dr. Owen had joined the newly established Keokuk Masonic Lodge.[11] Dr. Owen served as Worshipful Master of Keokuk Lodge No. 50 in 1904.[12] He took the degrees of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry at Guthrie in April of 1905.[13]

 

Dr. Harvey D. Owen and his wife Susan Pauline McGehee.

(Courtesy of Dana Christian)

From a series of letters between Dr. Owen and his sister in Lebanon, Tennessee, we gain a glimpse of what life in Keokuk Falls was like for the better citizens. Writing in February of 1903, Dr. Owen mentioned that his son Herman was growing fast and in good health. Then a warden of Keokuk Lodge No. 50, Dr. Owen also described having just returned from a week-long trip to the annual communication of the grand lodge in Guthrie, where he visited the territorial Legislative Hall and the Carnegie Library. He went on to ask his sister if she would like to come live in Oklahoma, adding, “This country suits me a great deal.”[14]

In January of 1904, sending Christmas greetings, Dr. Owen discussed some of the hardships on the frontier. He stated he had intended to write sooner and send a Christmas gift, but “owing to late crops and short collections” had not been able to do so. Dr. Owen indicated the cotton crop was late in 1903, with much of it being gathered after Christmas. Providing insight into what Christmas in the Oklahoma Territory was like, he said the family had to go ten miles downriver to find a Christmas tree, which was purchased from an Indian, as cedars were scarce. Clearly a loving father, Dr. Owen says of Herman:

We think he is the finest boy in the world and are sure you will think the same thing when you see his picture. He is smart and is learning to talk. I expect to send him to Richmond College soon.[15]

Little is known about Dr. Owen’s education, but as he specifically mentions Richmond College, it is likely this was his alma mater. Again, Dr. Owen speaks affectionately of Oklahoma Territory: 

Everything is very different here than from there, but I like to live here best. I could never be satisfied there anymore unless I could live in a good town which would be hard to do as every town is crowded. There is more doing here than there, and I have become accustomed to the ways here.[16]

In his January of 1904 letter, Dr. Owen also mentioned that the family might travel to St. Louis for the world’s fair, formally known as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, which was to open in April. The family did indeed visit the world’s fair and Dr. Owen remarked upon it in a December of 1904 letter. Of particular interest to Dr. Owen was the recreation of Jerusalem, which he said they entered through the Damascus Gate. He also added “The Boer War was good.”[17] The Second Boer War had only just concluded in 1902 and the fair featured the Anglo-Boer War Concession, described as the “the greatest and most realistic military spectacle known in the history of the world.” The concession included a British army encampment, native villages, and a fifteen-acre arena where two-to-three-hour battles were reenacted.[18] Again, Dr. Owen mentioned that his “collections” were late and was unable to send a Christmas gift owing to this. He also, for the first and only time, mentions some discontent with Keokuk Falls, stating, “We have some thought of moving but don't know yet.”[19] This thought of moving could have been precipitated by the violence in Pottawatomie County. As previously noted, 1904 was a particularly bad year and in just five months Dr. Owen and others sought help to bring an end to the violence from the territorial governor.

When Dr. Owen took the degrees of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, he received a patent, or certificate, indicating that he was a Master of the Royal Secret of the 32nd Degree, the date he was made so, and the Scottish Rite Valley he was a member of. With these credentials, Dr. Owen could prove himself to be a Scottish Rite Mason and seek Masonic aid as such. Additionally, Dr. Owen was provided with a second patent for his wife, stating that her husband was a Scottish Rite Mason, and thus entitling her to Masonic aid should she require it. Unfortunately, Dr. Owen’s time in Keokuk Falls was brief; he died on October 3, 1906, from pneumonia. Just ten days later, Susan Pauline gave birth to the couple’s daughter, Donnell.[20] Now a widow, Mrs. Owen undoubtedly did not expect to require her Scottish Rite wives’ patent so soon. She met and married John H. Nelson in 1908, a widower who owned a livery stable in Okemah.[21] Moving to Okemah with her children, Susan Pauline resided there until her passing in 1949, surviving Mr. Nelson who passed away in 1935. The couple had four children of their own in time.[22]

A recent acquisition of the McAlester Scottish Rite Valley, this patent was presented to the wife of Dr. Owen, Susan Pauline, and entitled her to Masonic aid as a Masonic widow. Mrs. Owen was able to safely keep the patent with her in its accompanying leather folio. These patents are quite scarce today, but were invaluable to their owners when the need to prove one's Masonic connection was necessary.

(From the collections of the McAlester Scottish Rite)

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Like Dr. Owen, Keokuk Falls existence was brief. With statehood in 1907, Oklahoma became a dry state. There was one last “hoorah” in Keokuk Falls on November 15, as noon the following day marked the end of the community’s status as a “liquor town.”[23] Keokuk Lodge No. 50 was renumbered in 1909 when the grand lodges of the twin territories merged, becoming Keokuk Lodge No. 146, and consolidated with Prague Lodge No. 209 in 1917.[24] The town’s post office closed in 1918. Later flooding on the North Canadian caused the river to shift its bed and the falls disappeared, thus wiping away the town’s landmark.[25] Keokuk Falls is but a ghost town today, but the Giles Cemetery where Dr. Owen was laid to rest remains.[26]

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[1]  George H. Shirk, “Along the Washington Irving Trail in Oklahoma,” The Chronicles of Oklahoma 35, no. 1 (Spring 1957): 107. 

[2]  John W. Morris, Ghost Towns of Oklahoma (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1980), 110-112.

[3]  Morris, 110-111

[4]  "Asked Governor for Protection," The Shawnee News (Shawnee, OK), May 22, 1905.

[5]  Morris, 110-111.

[6]  Proceedings of the M.: W.: Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of the Territory of Oklahoma: Ninth Annual Communication (Guthrie, 1901).

[7]  "Asked Governor for Protection," The Shawnee News.

[8]  Ibid.

[9]  1880 U.S. Census, Wilson, Tennessee, population schedule, ward 22, p. 571D, enumeration district (ED) 264, dwelling 68, family 69, Montgomery Owen.

[10]  Arkansas, U.S., County Marriages Index, 1837-1957, Database, Ancestry.com.

[11]  Proceedings of the M.: W.: Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of the Territory of Oklahoma: Ninth Annual Communication.

[12]  Proceedings of the M.: W.: Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of the Territory of Oklahoma: Twelfth Annual Communication (Guthrie, 1904).

[13]  "Scottish Rite Masons Here," The Weekly Oklahoma State Capital (Guthrie, OK), April 22, 1905.

[14]  Harvey D. Owen, Letter, February 12, 1903, Harvey D. Owen Letters, Dana Christian, McKinney, Texas.

[15]  Harvey D. Owen, Letter, January 29, 1904, Harvey D. Owen Letters, Dana Christian, McKinney, Texas.

[16]  Owen, Letter, January 29, 1904.

[17]  Harvey D. Owen, Letter, December 27, 1904, Harvey D. Owen Letters, Dana Christian, McKinney, Texas.

[18]  "Boer War Exhibit, St. Louis World’s Fair, 1904," Chapman University, accessed February 15, 2022, https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/jonathan_silent_film/603/.

[19]  Owen, Letter, December 27, 1904.

[20]  Dana Christian (genealogist), email, January 29, 2022.

[21]  Dana Christian (genealogist), email, February 4, 2022.

[22]  "John H. Nelson (1869-1935)," Find a Grave, accessed February 15, 2022, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/95739929/john-h-nelson.

[23]  Morris, 112.

[24]  Robert G. Davis & James T. Tresner II, Indians, Cowboys, Cornerstones, and Charities: A Centennial Celebration of Freemasonry in Oklahoma (Guthrie: The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the State of Oklahoma Library and Museum, 2009), 172.

[25]  Morris, 112.

[26]  "Dr. Harvey Donnell Owen (1870-1906)," Find a Grave, accessed February 15, 2022, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/180344779/harvey-donnell-owen.