Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library The Museum tells the story of Freemasonry & fraternalism in the context of American history.

Did you know the museum has a YouTube channel? Visit to watch recordings of previous programs, historic film footage, an...
08/27/2026

Did you know the museum has a YouTube channel? Visit to watch recordings of previous programs, historic film footage, and videos about some of the objects now on view, including this 1947 photo of members of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Kansas.

This photo and 15 other objects are featured in our "Museum Objects" playlist: https://bit.ly/4ila7yc. Love the objects and want to see them in person? The museum is open this Saturday August 29 from 9AM to 4PM.

Photo of the Month: A photographer created this ambrotype portrait of William Saul Hudson, Jr. (1841-1877) in the 1860s....
08/20/2026

Photo of the Month: A photographer created this ambrotype portrait of William Saul Hudson, Jr. (1841-1877) in the 1860s.

The photograph shows Hudson from head to toe, dressed in a military uniform, loosely holding a musket in his right hand. Gold paint added to the ambrotype calls attention to a buckle on Hudson’s cross belt and to a cockade on the side of a tricorne hat resting on the top of his musket.

Learn more about Hudson and his intriguing uniform on our blog at https://bit.ly/4qsi4ni.

During the American war for independence, which began in Lexington in April 1775, New England residents signed up for di...
08/13/2026

During the American war for independence, which began in Lexington in April 1775, New England residents signed up for different tours of duty in the new Continental Army. This muster roll lists men from the town of Newburyport, Massachusetts, who enlisted under the command of Captain Oliver Titcomb in September 1778.

See this muster roll in our online archives catalog here: https://bit.ly/4wMyR6S.

Apron of the Month: In 1819 a young sea captain, Joshua Bowman, received the Master Mason degree at Solar Lodge in Bath,...
08/06/2026

Apron of the Month: In 1819 a young sea captain, Joshua Bowman, received the Master Mason degree at Solar Lodge in Bath, Maine. Around the same time, Charles Codman was learning his trade as an ornamental painter, apprenticing with Boston artist John Rito Penniman.

Just a few years later, Bowman owned a Masonic apron that was likely painted by Codman. Learn more about this apron and these Masons on our blog at https://bit.ly/3R2kk7r.

As one of over 400 Global Leadership Summit host sites across the country, we invite you to join us at the Scottish Rite...
07/30/2026

As one of over 400 Global Leadership Summit host sites across the country, we invite you to join us at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library as we commit to developing our leadership capacities. Join us on August 6th & 7th and make the Global Leadership Summit a part of your personal leadership journey.

Be empowered to lead where you are. Learn more and register at www.srmml.org/gls/.

At the time of the Battle of Lexington in April 1775, the Reverend Jonas Clarke had been the minister in Lexington for n...
07/23/2026

At the time of the Battle of Lexington in April 1775, the Reverend Jonas Clarke had been the minister in Lexington for nearly twenty years. In 1776, on the first anniversary of the battle, Clarke preached a commemorative sermon that accused the British soldiers who marched through Lexington of being “more like murderers and cutthroats than the troops of a Christian king.”

The museum will be open this Saturday, July 25. Come see a book of commemorative sermons and other Revolutionary War material on view in “Nothing Short of Independence: Selections from the Library & Archives.” Learn more about this exhibition at https://bit.ly/48OWeTl.

During the American Revolutionary War, from 1775 to 1783, responding to public interest in the conflict, European publis...
07/16/2026

During the American Revolutionary War, from 1775 to 1783, responding to public interest in the conflict, European publishers printed maps of major battles and important locations. One of Europe’s greatest supporters of the American cause, Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette, used a map created by a member of his staff to convince the French king to support the rebellion against Great Britain.

A printed version of this 1779 map is now on view in the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library’s exhibition, “Mapping Change in North America, 1755-1834.” Read more about this influential map at https://bit.ly/4ajnp9I.

During the 1700s, many enslaved people in Massachusetts sued for their freedom, including Margaret Tulip of Lexington. S...
07/09/2026

During the 1700s, many enslaved people in Massachusetts sued for their freedom, including Margaret Tulip of Lexington. She was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and sold as an infant. After her term of enslavement ended, William Muzzey, also of Lexington, illegally re-enslaved her. Tulip sued Muzzey for her freedom, winning her lawsuit in November 1770.

Her personal right to liberty was secured through the Massachusetts courts. It was not until July 8, 1783 that another freedom suit, that of Quock Walker, would lead to the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts.

Learn more at Lexington’s 6th annual Quock Walker Day Community Celebration. Stop by the museum’s table to talk about Margaret Tulip’s extraordinary life! More information about this event at https://bit.ly/43T6pU5.

Association of Black Citizens of Lexington -ABCL Lex See Her Visit Lexington

In the 1760s and 1770s, North American colonists protested strenuously when they felt their rights were threatened by th...
07/02/2026

In the 1760s and 1770s, North American colonists protested strenuously when they felt their rights were threatened by their government in Great Britain. Many lost their lives and property during the eight-year-long war for independence that began in Lexington in 1775. Learn more about the American Revolution in Lexington at https://bit.ly/41YYh34.

After winning their freedom, Americans sought to build a country dedicated to the ideal that “all men are created equal,” as asserted in the 1776 Declaration of Independence. July 4, 2026, marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of that visionary founding document.

*The museum will be closing at 2PM on July 2 and closed all day on July 3 for the holiday. We look forward to welcoming you back on July 6!*


This nautical painting, currently on view at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, features a two-masted schooner....
06/25/2026

This nautical painting, currently on view at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, features a two-masted schooner. The ship flies an American flag, a white swallowtail pennant with a red border bearing the name “O. M. PETTIT,” and a blue and white pennant with Masonic square and compasses. At the bottom of the painting is an inscription: “Sch. Oliver M. Pettit of Boston off North Point J.R. Clark Master J.H. Hall Artist Baltimore.”

The O. M. Pettit was a coasting schooner, a small, fast ship that primarily carried goods between locations along the coast. Built in 1854, the ship was active from 1855 to 1867. During this time, she had a few different captains, most notably the man mentioned in the inscription and his brother.

Read more about the O. M. Pettit and her Masonic captains on our blog at https://bit.ly/4euOfNa, and see the painting in person during the museum's Open Saturday on June 27th!

Address

33 Marrett Road
Lexington, MA
02421

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm

Telephone

(781) 861-6559

Website

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