The Royal White Hart Masonic Lodge No. 2 in Halifax is adjacent to the state historic site. It.was formally organized in April 1765, is one of the oldest and most historically significant institutions in Halifax County. The original members met at taverns previous to building their first lodge c1769 on land donated by Joseph Montfort, a wealthy planter and politician who served as a town commissioner, clerk of court, and treasurer to the Royal Governor. Montfort was appointed the first Grand Master and, in 1771, was given the most prestigious title of “Grand Master of America” by the British Masonic Lodge.
The current weatherboard building is a two-story, Federal-style lodge hall that was constructed in 1824. It stands on brick piers, has a standing-seam metal roof, and an interior corbelled brick chimney. The double-leaf front entrance has a two-light transom and a mitered three-part surround. The interior plan is nearly identical on both levels, with a large room extending the width of the building for a depth of two bays. Two small rooms flank a stair hall at the back of the first floor. Just northeast of the building, there is a bell hanging from tall posts with markings reading “Philadelphia 1876”
The lodge has preserved records of meetings from 1764 to 1772 and from 1783 to the present time. The missing records were likely lost during the Revolutionary period by one of the members who had removed them from the lodge for safekeeping.
Furnishings of the lodge include silver candlesticks, purchased in 1784 at the cost of 11 pounds, and the Master’s Chair on the first floor, which was purchased in England around 1765. There is also an exact copy, “elegant floor cloth” hanging on the wall (pictured above), which Montfort had acquired in England and presented to the lodge in 1772. The original floor cloth exists, but is stored for safekeeping.
Floor cloth that was presented by Joseph Montfort to the Royal White Hart Lodge No. 2, Halifax, North Carolina c.1765 (Source: Courtesy of Royal White Hart Lodge No. 2 A.F. photo, Museum of Early Southern Decorative Art. Source: Masonic Lodge (E-8) | NC DNCR
