The Masons of Fredericksburg Lodge #4, Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons, organized as a lodge in 1752. They established this cemetery in 1784 and there are now approximately 270 graves within these grounds. Most are members and family members of the original lodge, but along the wall are the reinterred remains of the American Masonic Lodge #63, which had splintered off from Lodge #4, in 1799, but which did not last as an organization beyond the Civil War.
The many graves within the sandstone walls reflect the population that was part of Fredericksburg's early development. Burials include people who came to Fredericksburg from England, Scotland, Ireland, Switzerland, as well as from other American towns such as Boston. Numerous members of the Lodge also fought in the American Revolution. The Masons clearly helped to found a community as well as establish a nation.
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