.png)
ABOUT US
Fidelity Lodge #10 is a Masonic Lodge located in San Diego, California. Our organization is dedicated to promoting moral and spiritual values. Our members are taught these values through a series of ritual dramas, which follow ancient forms and use stonemasons' customs and tools as allegorical guides. Our lodge is comprised of men who are committed to making a positive impact in the community and promoting brotherhood.
BRIEF HISTORY
PRINCE HALL STORY
Prince Hall, our founder, was an influential American and the first Grand Master associated with our first Grand Lodge and its expansion. Over a year before the Declaration of Independence was signed, Hall made his mark on American history. A free mulatto, he became a property owner, voter, and community activist in the Cambridge-Boston Colony. Despite his pivotal role in history, his contributions have often been overlooked in mainstream accounts, though he was an important civil rights advocate.
While details about his early life, servitude, and profession remain unclear, it is known that Prince Hall’s commitment to improving the lives of his people, coupled with his aspiration to become a Freemason, led him and 14 other men of color to receive the three degrees of Freemasonry on March 6, 1775, in an Irish Military Lodge affiliated with the 38th Foot of the British Army. This made Prince Hall the first African American to join Freemasonry in North America.
When the regiment was ordered to New York in 1776, leaving Hall and his brethren without a lodge, Prince Hall petitioned the Grand Lodge of England for a full charter. He sought to establish a lodge that would offer Black men the same opportunities for fellowship and personal growth that Freemasonry provided to white men. In 1787, his petition was granted, and African Lodge No. 1 became the first officially recognized Black Masonic lodge in North America.
Prince Hall’s efforts to create a space for Black men in Freemasonry were an act of resistance to the racial discrimination prevalent in colonial America. By founding African Lodge, Hall laid the groundwork for the Prince Hall Freemasonry movement, which continues to provide Black men with opportunities for service, civic engagement, and the pursuit of moral values.
Fidelity Lodge #10, the oldest Lodge in District 11, has its origins in 1903. It was formally constituted on July 21, 1903, by Grand Master Joseph S. Hatton, with ten founding members, including Worshipful Master Richmond C. Marshall. The lodge has a rich history, including its merger with Starling J. Hopkins Lodge #88 in 2006. Fidelity Lodge has remained a cornerstone of the community, meeting at its building on Logan Avenue since 1956.