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The George Washington Gavel |
The gold cap of the Gavel, affixed by Potomac Lodge in 1856, reads as follows:"This Gavel was prepared for Bro. George Washington for the purpose of laying the Corner Stone of the U.S. Capitol and was so used by him September 18, 1793. He then presented it to Potomac Lodge No. 9 of Maryland, afterward Potomac Lodge No. 43 and now Potomac Lodge No. 5 of the Grand Lodge of the D.C., by whose Order of 1840 this Inscription is place upon it. 1856" 
This historic Gavel, its head made of the same Maryland
marble used in the interior of the original Unites States Capitol
building and its handle of a dark, native American cherry of unique
grain, was made by one John Duffy who also made the other Masonic
implements used by Worshipful Brother George Washington, the charter
Master of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, in laying the cornerstone
of the Capitol building, September 18, 1793. John Duffy, reputedly
a member of Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4 of Virginia and George Washington's
mother Lodge, was a silversmith by trade and was married to a daughter
of President Washington's gardener.At the conclusion of the cornerstone laying ceremonies, President Washington gave the silver trowel he used to his own Lodge and presented the Gavel to the Master of Lodge No. 9 of Maryland, Valentine Reintzel, a Town Councilman and Merchant of Georgetown whose members were present and participating in the ceremony. Most Worshipful Brother Reintzel was the first Grand Master of Masons of the District of Columbia and he retained personal possession of the Gavel until his death in 1817 when his family returned it to Potomac Lodge. This Lodge was originally chartered on April 21, 1789 and its Master, Peter Cassanave, and members laid the cornerstone of the White House on October 13, 1792. 
The first recorded use of the Gavel after the laying of the cornerstone
of the Capitol was August 22, 1824 when it was used to lay the cornerstone
of the City Hall of the District of Columbia. Since then it has
been used to lay the cornerstone of many public buildings throughout
the eastern part of the United States and for other public and Masonic
ceremonies of an historical nature. The following Presidents of
the United States, all Master Masons but two, have either used or
been present at the using of the Gavel on the occasions cited below:
The George Washington Gavel has been present on numerous historic occasions in recent years, including the reenactment of the placing of the original boundary marker of the District of Columbia located at Jones Point near the Potomac River shoreline of Alexandria, Virginia. This ceremony was one of the Masonic events conducted by the Grand Lodge, F.A.A.M., of the District of Columbia, as a salute to our country's Bi-Centennial Celebration on October 9, 1976. The ceremonial usage of the Gavel was most evident in 1982, when it was present for several special programs commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the birth of Illustrious Brother George Washington. The events were held not only at Potomac Lodge No. 5, but in several other locations including Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he was initiated and Entered Apprentice Mason on November 4, 1752, and became a Master Mason on August 4, 1753; and in Alexandria Washington Lodge No. 22, in Alexandria, Virginia. Washington was installed as that Lodge's first Worshipful Master on November 22, 1788, when the warrant was issued by the Grand Lodge, A.F. & A.M., of Virginia, less than six months prior to his inauguration as the First President of the United States of America on April 30, 1789. For many years the Gavel was stored in the Lodge Hall, officers' homes or a bank vault. In 1922, due to the long and friendly association between the Lodge and the Farmers and Mechanics National Bank, which then became a part of the Riggs National Bank and is now a branch of PNC Bank, the Bank officials suggested that it be placed in a specially constructed box of their deposit vault for safe keeping. This arrangement was most fortunate as the Lodge building at 1210 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., burned to the ground on July 7, 1963 and everything therein was totally destroyed. The close association between this bank and Potomac Lodge dates back to July 26, 1827 when William Wilson Corcoran, then a prosperous Georgetown merchant and later a co-founder of Riggs and Company, now Riggs National Bank, was raised a Master Mason in Potomac Lodge. He endowed the Art Gallery which bears his name at 17th and New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, D. C. |
