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TEMPLE LODGE No. 33 HISTORY & LODGE HISTORIAN

The Temple Lodge No. 33 historian is R.W.B. Bill Thompson (photo at left).

Temple Lodge No. 33, A.F. & A.M., has a long, honourable and influential history in Duncan and the surrounding Cowichan Valley. Many members have been prominent in local business and there are several well known buildings in downtown Duncan built originally as the business premises of Temple Lodge. No.33 members.

Other members have been active in local politics. It can be safely said that members of Temple Lodge, No. 33 were instrumental in getting the City of Duncan incorporated in 1912. Seven members of Temple Lodge have served as Mayor of Duncan. Four of our members have served as Reeve (Mayor) of the District of North Cowichan. Other members have served on the City of Duncan and District of North Cowichan municipal and district councils. Four Temple Lodge members have served in the Provincial Legislature. One of our members served as a Member of Parliament.

Temple Lodge members have served in law enforcement and in Canada's military. Four of our members died in Canada's military service during World War 1.

For those interested in local history and how Freemasons have figured in local history, we have included pages on, and links to, the following topics:

• the formation of Temple Lodge in 1899 by 14 local Freemasons;
• the building of the Temple Lodge Masonic Hall in 1912;
• local buildings built, or for, Lodge members or in some way connected to Lodge members;
• the Incorporation of the City of Duncan;
• a series of pages detailing Temple Lodge - Items of Historic Interest outlining significant and/or interesting events in the history of Temple Lodge, No. 33 by decade: 1899-1909; 1910-1919; 1920-1929; 1930-1939; 1940-1949; 1950-1959 . Please note that this is an ongoing project and there is still a lot of information we have not yet had time to put on the site;
• Temple Lodge Veterans and Our Four Brothers Killed in the First World War;

For historians, geneologists and other researchers we have included the following links:

• Vancouver Island Masonic History Project - an ongoing project by Temple Lodge, No. 33 to document the rich heritage left by Freemasons on Vancouver Island;
• a complete list of Temple Lodge No. 33 Principal Officers from 1899 to the present;
• Temple Lodge, No. 33 Membership Lists from 1899 - 1965. These lists are on individual pages from 1899 -1909, 1910-1919, 1920-1929, 1930-1939, 1940-1949, 1950-1959, 1960-63. To avoid any potential conflicts with current privacy legislation we are presently maintaining a fifty year gap in the information we put online. We will add the 1966 list in 2016, and so on. Please note that this is an on going project and we will add more information as time permits.
• Vancouver Island Cemeteries - Masonic Interments;
• Deceased Brethren (only includes those names we have included on the site so far or whom we are currently researching)

For those interested in additional research on Freemasonry and Masonic history, the Grand Lodge of B.C. & Yukon website has an excellent Introduction To Freemasonry as well as sections on Masonic History in B.C. and Masonic History in general.

For those interested in further research on local history, we have included a list of recommended books by local authors. We also recommend the Cowichan Valley Museum, the Cowichan Valley Archives (located in Duncan City Hall) and the Cowichan Historical Society.