March 3, 2021

Lodge History

Mount Moriah Lodge #116 was given Dispensation to form a lodge by the Grand Master of Masons in Maryland on February 6, 1865. The lodge was instituted on February 7, 1865, and received a Charter from the Grand Lodge of Maryland on May 8, 1865. The lodge was named after Mount Moriah, a hill in Jerusalem which was the site of King Solomon’s temple erected around 1005 B.C.

While the lodge has met in several different locations during its history, it has had two Masonic Lodge buildings as a permanent home. The original Masonic Lodge building was erected at the corner of Chesapeake & Washington Avenues in Towson, Maryland and was dedicated on June 9, 1880. This building was razed in 1970 as part of the planning effort that began in 1962, culminating with the construction and dedication on October 7, 1972 of the present Masonic Lodge building located at 507 West Chesapeake Ave. in Towson.

Several Mt. Moriah Lodge members have served the Grand Lodge of Maryland in various capacities. Among the most noteworthy are Warren S. Seipp and Edgar Cordell Powers.

Warren S. Seipp, a Past Master of Mount Moriah Lodge, was Worshipful Master of the Lodge for the years 1904 – 1907, and served as Grand Master of Masons in Maryland from 1920 until his death in 1930. Following his death on April 11, 1930 he was buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Towson, Maryland. He is the only member of Mount Moriah to have served as Worshipful Master for 4 consecutive years. One of Warren Seipp’s many lasting marks on Masonry in Maryland from his tenure as Grand Master is the Bonnie Blink Retirement Home located in Cockeysville. Bonnie Blink is the result of a plan he initiated to provide a home for elderly Masons and their spouses in Maryland.

Edgar Cordell Powers, also a Past Master of Mount Moriah Lodge, was Worshipful Master of the Lodge in 1938, and went on to become the Sovereign Grand Inspector General of Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, for the Orient of Maryland.

Warren Seipp and Edgar Powers are but two of a long and distinguished line of members and Past Masters who have served and contributed to the growth and success of Mount Moriah Lodge #116.