Lynnhaven Lodge No. 220 AF & AM - 2959 N Lynnhaven Road, Virginia Beach, VA. 23452-6916

Lynnhaven Lodge No. 220 was first conceived during a discussion following a church meeting at Lynnhaven Presbyterian Church in March 1961. Several active Master Masons were discussing the need for a Lodge in the immediate area and agreed to pursue the idea. Petitions were circulated for possible members and on April 13, 1961, a meeting was called to formalize the creation of a Masonic Lodge in the Lynnhaven community. The meeting was held in the Lynnhaven-Little Neck Civic League building with Right Worshipful Ira McCloud presiding. Forty-two brethren had signed the petition and many attended this first meeting to assist in this serious endeavor. At this meeting, the Lodge name was selected and the first stationed officers were elected.

Subsequent meetings were held on May 12, and July 8, 1961, to establish committees for the dispensation request, meeting site, and furniture, etc. On July 13, 1961, a request was made to the Grand Lodge of Virginia for a dispensation to work under the selected name with the following officers:

Ira McCloud                           Worshipful Master
William Bradt                         Senior Warden
Cecil C. Canton                      Junior Warden

The Grand Master of Masons in Virginia approved the request on July 26, 1961. The first stated communication was held on September 14, 1961, when the dispensation was presented to the Lodge. Four petitions for degrees were read and the Lodge was off and running.

At a stated communication on November 9, 1961, the number 220 was selected. Worshipful Brother Bradt had researched several available numbers and provided a history of the number. It had belonged to Mount Moriah Lodge No. 220, located near Washington and was charted in 1866. Due to dwindling membership the Lodge surrendered its charter and merged with Washington Lodge No. 78 in July 1958.

The Grand Lodge voted to grant a charter on February 12, 1962. On March 9, 1962, Past Grand Master, Most Worshipful E. C. Glover, Jr. instituted and dedicated the Lodge at a special meeting held in the temple of its Mother Lodge, Virginia Beach Lodge No. 274. There were eighty-four charter members.

The Lodge continued to meet in the small civic league building on Little Neck Road until August 1963. A larger meeting place was needed, and with Grand Lodge's approval, the Lodge moved to the social hall of Lynnhaven Methodist Church. The Lodge continued to meet there until the construction of a Masonic Temple could be built for Lynnhaven Lodge No. 220; one that was all its own from bottom to top.

On September 13, 1962, the Brethren of the Lodge voted to purchase a site at 2959 N. Lynnhaven Rd. for the building of the Temple. In December 1962, the Temple and Site Committee reported that the use permit had been approved, and in February 1963, the property for the building at was paid for in full.

Most Worshipful Walter A. Porter, Grand Master of Masons in Virginia, laid the temple cornerstone on November 27, 1965. The first official communication was held in the temple on September 29, 1966. With a permanent home, the Lodge family began to grow. Lynnhaven Chapter No. 184, Order of the Eastern Star was formed in 1966. On March 19, 1969, Lynnhaven Chapter, Order of DeMolay installed their first officers. Also, Jobs Daughters Bethel No. 66 had their first installation of officers on November 24, 1970.

Lynnhaven Lodge has established a reputation of hard work, fun, and fellowship during its formative years. This has continued through to the present, and we hope, well into the future. During its first twenty-six years, an average of twenty-three Master Masons were raised per year. The record was thirty-seven in 1982. The hours spent in the quarries of Freemasonry have paid off and Lynnhaven Lodge can be considered among the most innovative in the Grand Lodge of Virginia.