bluestone lodge #338
81 church st., hallstead, pa. 18822
Second Tuesday, at 7:00 o'clock and 30 minutes PM

	Great Bend Lodge #338 (Constituted March 5th, 1860) and New Milford Lodge #507 (Constituted March 6th, 1872), merged on December 27th, 1988 creating Bluestone Lodge #338, and moved into former Hallstead United Methodist Church in 2004.
	The Stained Glass Windows, near the peaks at each end of our Lodge Hall, were designed and created by Gail Aldrich in honor of Robert J. Walker & John J. Aldrich.

 A Short History of Freemasonry at the Great Bend of the Susquehanna River.

            Freemasonry within the current district of Blue Ridge Schools can be traced by History and

Tradition to the warrant of Lodge No. 65 issued by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania on April 11, 1795 

to the Lodge which was to be held in the County of Luzerne at the Great Bend of the Susquehanna

River.  This Lodge known only as Lodge No. 65 surrendered it's warrant on October 16, 1809 for 

reasons which remain unknown. During it's 14 years of operation it recorded 52 members with many

names which are common in the area to this day. (Holdridge, Potter, Newman, Guernsey, Whitney, 

Ball, Shaw, Allen, Summers, Moore, Stone, etc.) To be entered into the Lodge cost 2 dollars and  to

receive the Fellowcraft or Master Mason's Degree cost three and one third dollars. 

            Great Bend Lodge No. 338 F.&A.M. was constituted in the summer of 1860. The Warrant

was issued by the Grand Lodge of the most ancient and honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted 

Masons of Pennsylvania ,etc. and is dated March 5, A. D. 1860. The lodge was constituted in the Odd

Fellows Hall on the second floor of the school house in Great Bend Village (now Hallstead) and 

occupied that  room for about three years. The Lodge then rented rooms on the second floor of a two-

story frame building at the corner of Main and Pine streets, Great Bend Borough. On May 29^th, 1875, 

the building and all the property of the Lodge was destroyed by fire. The Lodge occupied temporary

quarters in the Susquehanna Valley House for a few months while the second floor of a new two-story 

brick building, on the same site, was being prepared for the use of the Lodge. The new Masonic Hall

was furnished by the Lodge at heavy expense, being assisted by Great Bend Chapter No. 210 and Great 

Bend Commandery, No. 27 who also occupied the Hall at that time. A list of members dated Dec. 27, 1874 includes 99 names. 

            Twelve years after the establishment of Great Bend Lodge No. 338, a Lodge of Master  Masons

to be known as New Milford Lodge No. 507 was Warranted on March 6^th and Constituted on December 

19^th. The first new member initiated into this new Lodge was George P. Little whose son and grandson

both served as Judge of the Susquehanna county court. The first meeting place of the Lodge is not definitely known, however over

time it met in buildings we have known as Erat's Hardware, (razed), Adam's Community Store (Uncle Charlie's Pizza), and the

I.O.O.F. Hall. Early Minutes tell of a committee being appointed to purchase spittoons and cushions for the Lodge Room. 

            Bluestone Lodge No. 338 Free and Accepted Masons was formed from the merger of Great

 Bend  Lodge No. 338 and New Milford Lodge No. 507 on December 27. 1988. Pennsylvania Lodges 

are assigned numbers by the Grand Lodge and merged Lodges carry the lower number  indicating

the earlier establishment of that Lodge. Bluestone Lodge No. 338 met in the brick building at the 

corner of Main and Pine Streets in Great Bend Borough until, after having purchased and then sold

the I.O.O.F. Hall in New Milford, they purchased the building which had been the meeting place of 

the Hallstead Methodist Congregation at 81 Church Street. Here they continue to thrive as a vital,

 active part of the community and to work toward their shared goal of “making good men better”.

Prepared by Bro. Robert M. Whitney, PM Sec.