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Mount Washington Lodge # 87 F. & A. M. was organized in 1868 by local Masons who lived in the Valley, but as members of Carroll Lodge had to travel to Freedom to attend Masonic functions. The founders of the Lodge were Masonic Brothers: William C. Eastman, Augustus Eastman, J. Cummings Eastman, Haskett D. Eastman, John C. Davis, Edwin C. Stokes, Nathaniel Faxon, and Albert Barnes of Carroll Lodge No. 57; Thomas B. Newby, Chaplain of Adelphic Lodge, No. 348 of New York City; and Brother James M. Gibson, Entered Apprentice of Carroll Lodge No. 57. In June 1869 they were formally granted a Charter by the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire.
The original meetings were first held at the Washington House and then space was rented at Academy Hall. During 1872 they built a Lodge Hall at the present site. The Lodge burned on February 29th, 1929 but was rebuilt and completed on June 23rd, 1931. The costs of reconstruction did not allow for the purchase of furnishings, but the bretheren quickley dealt with the situation. Each member was asked to donate an item of furniture as a memorial to the Lodge, and did so in the spirit of Freemasonry.
The murals which adorn the walls of the Lodge Room were originally designed and milk painted by Arvid Asplunt, an itinerant artist who was in the area in the 1930's. These Masonic Murials are used extensively to explain the history, and principles of Freemasonry. They were later repainted and have been touched up from time to time since their inception.
Since 1869, over 500 citizens of the area have become masons. Many of their descendents still live in the Valley.
Charity is one of the basic principles of Freemasonry and Mount Washington Lodge actively supports all local charities by sponsoring and paying for pancake breakfasts from which all proceeds are donated to the charity, by giving $2,500 annually in scholarships to local students, by supporting the DARE Program, and sponsoring it's own local Masonic Angel Fund which provides modest assistance to children in need, within the local community, who do not fit the criteria for the usual social service programs.
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