Hiram Lodge Masons Honor First Newtown Master

By John Voket

As cheers from a nearby softball game punctuated the air, more than a dozen friends and Masons including members of Newtown’s Hiram Lodge #18 gathered for a solemn graveside service commemorating both the chartering of this local service chapter and its first Master, Captain Peter Nichols.

The group welcomed descendents of Capt Nichols including great-great-great-great-grandson Robert Hall, a local attorney, and Dan Nichols of New Milford, who is loosely related as a descendent of a cousin of Capt Nichols.

The event included a heartfelt reading from the Master Mason Lecture by Marvin Self, who has been an active member of the Newtown lodge for 56 years, and a recitation of the history of the Hiram Lodge’s chartering by current Master William Hillman.

A wreath was then laid at the grave site by Mr Nichols, assisted by Mr Hall, followed by a recitation of the names of every Newtown lodge master to serve since its establishment on January 14, 1791. Capt Nichols proceeded to open the lodge officially three days later on January 17, 1791.

Special thanks was made to Kevin White who attended. Just a few days earlier, Mr White took on the repair and leveling of the stone, which was previously photographed pitched to one side due to lack of maintenance.

Capt Nichols, according to the brief historical program recanted by Mr Hillman, was a notable community leader who in 1761 set up a school in what is today the Kettletown area of Southbury. As a subscriber, he also played a role in choosing staff for that school.

In 1769 he was on a committee that established the Tinkerfield School in Newtown.

Mr Hillman also noted that in August of 1767, Capt Nichols is on public record as paying local taxes which would amount to $18,000 in today’s dollars. The current master also noted how today’s Lodge and its members are carrying on the tradition of Capt Nichols, by establishing a scholarship fund for Newtown High School seniors, as well as supporting community events as recent as the Newtown Relay For Life.

Lodge member Sam Smith, a cancer survivor himself, was an honorary co-chair of this year’s relay, and helped his team raise more than $6,000 to support cancer research and outreach services.