Plot Size: 67" by 68'
Established 1859
In purchasing this site from the Board of Trustees, Sacramento City Cemetery, July 30, 1859, the Order of Free and Accepted Masons became the first fraternal organization in Sacramento to provide a private burial plot for its members - a cemetery within a cemetery. The Old Masonic was acquired in two sections, the last of which was purchased April 30, 1860, increased the plot to its present size and brought the total cost to the Masonic Order up to $579.00.
FREE AND ACCEPTED ORDER OF THE MASONS
In September of 1849, the first known meeting of Master Masons in Sacramento was called by notices placed on trees at an old horse market at 6th and K Streets. This meeting organized a masonic association for the relief of sick and distressed, although at the time there were only 69 Masons in Sacramento.
Also meetings held in 1849 set the groundwork for the formation of Sacramento's first two chartered Masonic Lodges - the Connecticut Lodge No.75, later changed to Tehama No.3, and New Jersey Lodge, later renamed Jenning's No.4. Both lodges were granted their charter by the Grand Lodge of California 1850.
HONORED MASONS
Buried near the Northeast boundary of the Old Masonic Cemetery, the Hon. John Bigler is perhaps this section's most notable resident. A Master Mason and one of the founders of Tehama Lodge No.3, Bigler was also the first Speaker of the Assembly, 1840-1850, the third governor of the state, 1852-1856, and United States Minister to Chile, 1857-1881.
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