The Brief History of

Sublime Benicia No. 5 Lodge & Halls

 

The City of Benicia

 

            During the Bear Flag Rebellion in 1846, a group of Americans – including Dr. Robert Semple and his step-nephew, Lansing Mizner – captured the Commandant of Northern (Alta) California, General Mariano Vallejo at his home and headquarters in Sonoma. While transporting the General by boat down the Napa River and up the Sacramento River to Sutter’s Fort, Semple and Mizner saw the land that now comprises the City of Benicia and recognized its potential for the development of a port to support trade for all of Northern California.

 

They entered into an agreement with General Vallejo to establish a ferry between Central (Martinez) and Northern California, using a part of the proceeds to support a ‘Public’ School – open to all residents at no cost to the students nor their families. When Semple and Mizner agreed, General Vallejo deeded the land to them for the establishment of the City of Franchesca (they wanted to name the city for the Generals wife). Later, when the city leaders of the village of Yerba Buena decided to rename their town after Saint Frances and called it San Francisco – Simple, Mizner and other early residents of Franchesca changed its name to Benicia, one of Mrs. Vallejo’s middle names.

 

Benicia Lodge No. 5

 

            During this time, the majority of the residents of Benicia found that they were Brother Masons, from many eastern states, and began to meet as Masons. On the 5th day of June 1849, the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Ancient York Masons in Louisiana had issued a Dispensation for the forming a Traveling Lodge to be held in California where there was no Grand Lodge of Masons formed. A copy of this dispensation is currently on display in the Lodge Museum. It was under this Dispensation that on March 6, 1850, a meeting was held in Benicia and a Lodge was formed as Pacific Lodge with Brother Benjamin D. Hyam elected as the Worshipful Master.            

 

            About this time, a Sacramento Lodge invited several Lodges to meet in that city for the purpose of establishing a Grand Lodge of California. A convention was organized on April 4, 1850 in Sacramento; Brother Hyam attended representing Benicia Lodge. He was appointed Secretary to the Convention and was instrumental in the establishment of the Grand Lodge of California.

 

A Credentials Committee was formed and five Lodges, including Benicia Lodge, presented their credentials for review. On April 17, the Credentials Committee reported that they had not received a Charter, Dispensation or any Masonic information of the existence of Benicia Lodge. The problem was resolved and on April 19, 1850, the Grand Lodge of California issued a Charter to Benicia Lodge as the fifth California Lodge. A copy of that original hand written Charter is also on display in the Lodge Museum.

Remember it was not until September 9, 1850 that California was admitted to the Union as the 31st state.

 

The First Lodge Hall

 

The brethren expressed a desire to build their own Masonic Temple, rather than continue to rent meeting places. While WM Brother Hyam was in Sacramento, Brother Alexander Rydell agreed to lease property to Benicia Lodge for $1.00 per year. On September 10, 1850, Sarah and Alexander Rydell sold the lot at 110 West “J” Street to the Lodge for $1.00.

 

The Hall was built for a cost of $18,000.00, with $14,000.00 going for material that was furnished by Dr. Robert Semple. On November 27, 1850, Brother Mizner announced in Grand Lodge that a new Hall had recently been erected and furnished in Benicia. (The first such Hall erected in California)

 

The original Bible, presented to the Lodge by Captain Thomas Stanley (a Master Mason) of the USS Savannah, is on display in the Lodge Museum. The original Altar, made of 216 individual pieces of wood, taken form seven types of native trees, glued and pinned together along with five original ‘Black Oak’ chairs are still in use in the old ‘Historic’ Lodge Hall. They are accompanied by several ‘White Oak” cane bottomed chairs from the mid 1800’s. The original candlestick holders that came around the Horn from the east coast are sill in use in the ‘Old Hall’. The first jewels used by the Lodge were made of tin cut from food cans,

 

The New Hall

 

In 1887, Benicia Lodge had outgrown the original Temple and decided to build a New Temple. The motion to build the new Lodge Hall was split evenly and the then Master of Benicia Lodge, Brother E. Estey cast the deciding vote to construct it. The land bordered by First Street and West ‘J’ Street was purchased from Brother Max Burkardt of San Francisco on December 20, 1887, and construction was immediately started on the New Temple, which is stilled referred to as the ‘New Temple’, is the main working hall of the Lodge today. 

 

The Historic Hall

 

            The lower floor of the old Hall served temporarily as the county courthouse until 1852. After 1888 the Historic Hall was used as a schoolhouse, dance hall, church, Union Hall and American Legion Hall up until 1950 when the Masonic Lodge reacquired the property. It was restored at a cost of several thousand dollars plus the donation of many hours of labor from its members and volunteers from the Vallejo Masonic Lodges.

            The ‘Historic Old Temple’ or ‘Historic Hall’ is presently used by Sublime Benicia Lodge for the conferring of Third Degrees and may be used by any California Masonic Lodge for degree conferrals without a dispensation. A Masonic Historical Museum is on the first floor and the restored Lodge meeting Hall is on the second floor.

 

            The new Hall was in use from 1888 until 1989 when damage to the ceiling forced the Lodge to return to the ‘Historic Hall’ while repairs were undertaken. In 1992, the Lodge returned to the ‘New Hall’ and has held its meetings there to this date.

 

Sublime Lodge No. 831

 

Early in 1977, a group of Masons working at Mare Island Navel Shipyard began discussing the possibility of forming a new Lodge. A representative of the group contacted Grand Lodge and was given applications for each prospective member to fill out. After returning the completed forms, the group was instructed by Grand Lodge to form a Square and Compass Club and then request a Dispensation. The club met in a garage owned by Clark Kellogg, a Mason from Perla Del Oriente Lodge in the Philippines, here they practiced and became proficient in the Officer’s work.

 

They applied for a Dispensation on December 1, 1977 and the Lodge was constituted on January 27, 1978 at Crocker Lodge, with the Most Worshipful  Donald McCall presiding and the Worshipful Brother Don Deocales as the first Worshipful Master of Sublime Lodge, under Dispensation. The name ‘Centennial’ was first requested, but as another Lodge was using that name, Brother Arnie Asercion (Sublime Lodge’s 2nd Master) suggested the name of Sublime. This name being approved and assigned, the new Lodge, Sublime Lodge No. 831 received their Charter on January 6, 1979.

Sublime Lodge met in Crocker for the first two years, and then moved to Washington Lodge for one year. In an effort to move closer to the majority of their members, Sublime Lodge contacted Benicia Lodge No. 5 to determine if they could rent space in its Hall to hold Lodge meetings.

 

Benicia Lodge approved the request and Sublime Lodge began holding its meetings in Benicia. While Sublime Lodge felt the building was not large enough to hold its installation and other large events and after Lengthy discussion the Lodge vote to remain in Benicia by a three-vote margin as most of its members lived in the Vallejo area.

 

Sublime Benicia Lodge No. 5

 

Sublime Lodge was very successful and expanded in membership greatly. At the same time Benicia Lodge found its membership dwindling and attendance falling off. Discussions began on consolidating the two Lodges in March of 1993. The Lodges merged under the name Sublime Benicia Lodge No. 5, with Brother Romy de Lumen as the Worshipful Master. Sublime Benicia Lodge has continued to grow and prosper to this day, while maintaining both the ‘New’ and ‘Historic’ buildings.

 

Freemasonry

 

            Freemasonry is a traditional initiatic order. It is not a secret society, but rather, a society with secrets. While it took its modern form during the Enlightenment, its traditions, symbols, and lessons reach back to pre-modern times.

 

            The general work associated with the initiatic tradition and the purpose of Freemasonry, put simply, is to provide an environment where good men can come together to pursue meaningful intellectual and spiritual growth. It is often said that Freemasonry “makes good men better.” One of the underlying tenets of the initiatic tradition is the belief that with each individual that becomes a better person, the entire world profits.

 

            While there are many different organizations that contribute large sums of money to charity, offer fellowship with like-minded men, or provide education, Freemasonry is unique in that it embodies all these things, but is actually focused on offering men a traditional initiation into the mysteries of life and death. The initiatic tradition is the core, defining characteristic of Freemasonry, without which there would be nothing to differentiate Masonry from other social or philanthropic organizations.