Toponymie | Canton de Potton | Place Names

This building is found at 4 Chemin de Vale Perkins, on Place Manson.  The St. John's Lodge No 27 A.F. & A.M.G.R.Q., established in Potton since 1865, owns this building.  From its first days, the first floor was rented for commercial purposes: a store, the post office and now a funeral parlour have been the tenants.  The second floor contains the Lodge rooms.

The history of the Masons in Potton is rather interesting in that, before the founding of St. John's Lodge in 1865, several men from here were members of Lodges in nearby American towns, notably Troy and Richford, VT.  These Masons travelled considerable distances by horse for meetings.  It was therefore quite understandable that they would eventually want to establish a Lodge closer to home.

A petition from twelve Masons was drawn up on December 13th, 1864 for recommendation to the Grand Lodge of Canada to establish a lodge in South Potton – such to be known as North Missisquoi Lodge.  For various technical reasons, this request was not approved.

On May 9^th, 1865, however, thirteen men, including five of the Manson family, two of the Perkins family, plus Abel White, Frederick J. Parker, Edward Bickford, Levi Moore and Charles Adams, petitioned once again for a Lodge in South Potton.  This time they were successful.

“ On June 13, 1865 a warrant was issued to St. John's Lodge # 175 of South Potton.  On January 6^th, 1870 St. John's Lodge # 175 of the Grand Lodge of Canada affiliated with the Grand Lodge of Quebec and became St. John's Lodge # 18.  Some seven years later, in 1877, the Lodge designation was changed from # 18 to # 27, which it remains to this day. »

David A. Manson, one of the original petitioners, became the first Worshipful Master of the Lodge.  His daughter Daisy was asked to remember what she could of the earliest days of the Lodge: “ they were held in daylight hours, under some tall pine trees about a quarter of a mile East of Mansonville, just off the road leading to Vale Perkins »; “ their meetings were held on or before the full of the moon to take advantage of the light of the moon while travelling on horse or by foot. »

“ David A. Manson was for 65 years a member of the Royal Arch, and at the time of his death on February 9, 1929, was the oldest Past Master of any Lodge in Quebec, and, of course, was the last surviving charter member of St. John's Lodge in Potton. »

Of the first years of Masonry in Potton, few documents survived the “ two disastrous fires that burned the Masonic meeting places – the first on July 16, 1910 and the second, on January 29, 1923. »  “ For nearly three years after that fire, meetings were held in the St. Paul's Anglican Church hall.  The Lodge struck a Building Committee on June 13, 1925.  A total of $925.00 towards a Building Fund was subscribed that evening.  Within four months, the new building was completed, and on October 20, 1925 the dedication of the present Lodge building took place. »^[1]

“ Freemasonry originated from the guilds of operative stonemasons (known as lodges), which flourished in Europe and particularly in Britain, from the Middle Ages.  Stonemasonry was then a most important craft, the manifestation of which can still be seen today in the many cathedrals, churches, castles and manors which survive from those times.  Stonemasons were itinerant workers who were forced to travel to renew their employment as each building was completed.  The fluid nature of the operative craft, therefore, posed many problems in the determination and recognition of qualifications and skills.  In the largely illiterate society that then prevailed, lodges acted as trade regulatory bodies, not only in the area of professional skills and the recognition of practical qualifications, but also in the moral and religious standards of their members.  In response to these needs, the operative craft, through its lodges, evolved a system of instruction that combined practical knowledge and morality.  The medieval lodge system involved a degree of privacy and secrecy, so that the supposed skills of the arriving stranger could be readily checked. 

Freemasonry's main principles are related to a love of mankind, a preparedness to assist others when relief is required and a truthful and thoroughly moral approach to life. »^[2]

At the summit of Owl's Head is located a natural chamber, which is purportedly the only natural setting for a Masonic Lodge in the world.  In 1857, the Masons from Golden Rule Lodge # 5 were granted permission to meet in formal session on the mountaintop, at which time a suitable inscription was carved on a rock in the chamber.  This ritual usually takes place on the 24^th of June, feast day of St. John the Baptist, close to the time of the summer equinox.  It is the members of Stanstead's Golden Rule Lodge # 5 who lead the climb to the chamber/lodge, and who lead the meetings on such occasions.  All Masons are welcome. 

The New-England styled building, according to the Bergeron evaluation, is distinguished by the Masonic symbol of square and compass on its facade as well as its steeply pitched roof.