Jephtha Lodge No.494

Masonic light first came to Huntington in 1793 as Huntington Lodge No. 26 A.Y.M. The warrant was dated on March 22, 1793 thus making it the second lodge to be formed on Long Island. On April 7, 1796 Huntington Lodge #26 A.Y.M Master David Richard Floyd Jones read a petition from Port Jefferson requesting their assistance in forming a Lodge there, with W:. Brother Moses Blachly, a Past Master of Huntington Lodge #26, to be the first Master. The request and assistance was enthusiastically given, and the new Lodge was named Suffolk Lodge. Brothers from Huntington Lodge #26, living in the Hempstead vicinity, petitioned Grand Lodge to form Morton Lodge in Hempstead because of the tedious journey to attend Lodge in Huntington. By 1806, meetings in Huntington Lodge No. 26 had ended, and the original warrant was forfeited on March 4, 1818

Huntington was Masonically dark until late 1859, when a meeting took place at the house of Francis Olmstead in Northport, New York between William H. King, Jesse Carll, David Carll, John H. Jarvis, Phineas E. Sills and C.A. Floyd for the purpose of taking into consideration the feasibility of establishing a Lodge in the Village of Huntington. After some discussion, it was agreed that an application be made in due form to the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York for a dispensation to form a Lodge, to be known as Jephtha Lodge. Jephtha Lodge is named after a character in the Old Testament who served as one of the Judges in Israel for a period of six years (Judges 12:7) between the conquest of Canaan and the first king. Jephtha lived in Gilead and was a member of the Tribe of Manasseh.

Having obtained the necessary dispensation by Grand Lodge, Jephtha Lodge No. 494 was chartered on January 25, 1860. Jephtha Lodge was convened for the first time on Saturday January 28, 1860, as a Lodge under Dispensation in a room over the store of J. Fleet at the corner of New and Main St. Huntington Village, where they met for five years. A committee was appointed to outfit the room properly for Masonic work and to procure the necessary jewels. Charter Oak Lodge # 249 was gracious in donating the necessary regalia for the Officers.

In June 1860, after receiving a Charter from Grand Lodge, the Dispensation expired and the Lodge became known as Jephtha Lodge No. 494. Our Most Worshipful Grand Master was John W. Simons, Deputy Grand Master Finlay M. King and Grand Secretary James M. Austin. A pubic dedication was held in June 1860 and from that day on Jephtha Lodge has prospered.

A Lodge Seal was procured in September 1860 and at the end of the first year, membership totaled 53 Brothers. Initiation fee was $15 and dues $3. By 1865, the Lodge moved to a room over O. S. Sammis on the NW corner of Main St. and New York Ave.

In 1869, the lodge purchased a plot of land for $1000 on New York Avenue, for the erection of a Temple in later years. In the interim the Lodge leased the property for $50 per year. After periods of deliberation, Jephtha Lodge laid the cornerstone for its own temple on August 25, 1904 where the Lodge still meets to this day. The cornerstone encases a metal box containing artifacts from that time.