About Our Lodge
Lafayette Lodge No. 137 A.F.&A.M.
Located in the rolling foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Lafayette Lodge No. 137 AF &AM has been a pilar of the Luray and Page County communities for nearly two centuries.
Lafayette Lodge No. 137 AF & AM received its charter from The Grand Lodge of Virginia on December 15, 1824. The lodge derives its name from Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, more commonly known as Marquis de Lafayette, a French born Major General of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and brother Mason. In 1824, the year the lodge was founded, Marquis de Lafayette was in the midst of what is now known as The Grand Tour of The United States, where he visited the twenty-four existing states. Thus, Lafayette Lodge was named in his honor.
Charter Members
The first Master of Lafayette Lodge was Morgan Adolphus Lauck, who, it is believed was originally a member of a now extinct lodge that was located in Front Royal, Virginia. The records of that lodge were either lost to time or a fire that occurred at Unity Lodge No. 146 of Front Royal in 1914. Other charter members included members believed to be from that same lodge as well as members of Winchester Hiram No. 21 of Winchester, Virginia. Those men were; Senior Warden, Edwin T Robinson, Junior Warden Charles H Flinn, and brothers John M. Tump, J. D. Miller, Jasper Ball, William B Whittney, and Daniel Flinn.
A Pillar of the
Community
Lafayette Lodge is the oldest organization in Page County, Virginia and is older than any business in Luray. Luray was established in 1812 on the banks of Hawksbill Creek in what was then Shenandoah County. Page County was formed out of Sheanandoah and Rockingham Counties in 1831. By that time Lafayette Lodge was already serving the community.
Today Lafayette continues to support the community through the sponsorship of a number of youth and community organizations as well as charities beyond Luray and Page County. It is our goal to support and assist our community in any way we know how and by all means necessary.