George Washington Inaugural Bible on display in Naperville
George Washington is the most famous American Freemason. He was sworn in as the first President of the United States, on April 30, 1789. The ceremony took place on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City. However, prior to the swearing-in ceremony, a Bible needed to be procured.
Unable to find a Bible on the premises, Jacob Morton, Master of St. John’s Lodge No. 1, Ancient York Masons who was present, ran up the street to the Masonic Lodge and brought back the Lodge Bible that was used in the ceremony. The Bible is the King James Version, complete with the Apocrypha and elaborately supplemented with the historical, astronomical, and legal data of that period.
Since that occasion in 1789, Presidents Warren G. Harding, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, and George H. W. Bush have taken their oath of office on this Bible. George W. Bush had intended to take his oath of office on this Bible, but rainy weather did not allow its use. Three members of St. John’s Lodge were in attendance with the Bible in case the weather cleared.
The Bible was used in the funeral processions of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. It also has been used at the center-stone laying of the U. S. Capitol, dedication of the Washington Monument, the centennials of the cornerstone laying of the White House, and Statue of Liberty, at the 1964 World’s Fair, and the launching of the U. S. aircraft carrier, U.S.S. George Washington.
The Bible has been used at the cornerstone laying ceremonies of the Grand Lodge building of Massachusetts in Boston in 1867, and Grand Lodge building of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1869. It has also been displayed at the New York Historical Society, at the Smithsonian Museum, and at the United States Capitol Visitor Center.
The George Washington Inaugural Bible is normally displayed at the Federal Hall National Memorial, which is located on the site of the first inauguration. The Bible is still in use by St. John’s Lodge and is also taken out on tour when requested.
Such a request was made by Euclid Lodge No. 65, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons in Naperville, and the Lodge is happy to report that George Washington’s Inaugural Bible will be on display to the public from 11AM to 3PM Sun., Oct. 13, 2024, when the Lodge will be celebrating its 175th Anniversary.
As always with every time the Bible is taken on tour, three members of St. John’s Lodge No. 1 will accompany the Bible and guard it. St. John’s Lodge continues to preserve, maintain and restore the Bible through their charitable foundation, the St. John’s Lodge No. 1 Lodge Inc.
Please come out and see this beautiful and wonderful piece of U. S. history at the Naperville Masonic Temple, 34 W. Jefferson Avenue in downtown Naperville.
175th Anniversary Open House
11AM to 3PM
Sunday, October 13, 2024
31 W. Jefferson Avenue
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