A Brief History of

Goose River Lodge #19

Written by Dr. James Nielson, PM

A Masonic lodge often appeared once permanent settlements had been established in a frontier area. Such is the basic story of the Goose River Lodge. Pioneer homesteaders created farms out of the prairies of Traill County, Dakota Territory, in the late 1870's and early 1880's. Small towns such as Mayville and Portland, rural trading centers, quickly sprang up. It was time for Masonry to be firmly established.

On June 19, 1884, a number of men prominent in the area held an initial Lodge meeting under a dispensation granted by the Grand Lodge of Dakota Territory. They organized a Lodge and petitioned for a charter, which was issued a hear later in June, 1885. The name, Goose River Lodge, paid tribute to a small river which flows through the area and ultimately imptied into the Red River of the North.

The coming of statehood to North Dakota in 1889 brought changes to the Lodge. It was no longer subject to the Grand Lodge of Dakota Territory, but to thenewly organized Grand Lodge of North Dakota. The orginal charter was properly amended and given a new number, 19.

The Goose River Lodge was located in Portland,ND. Mayville, the nearby community roughly two miles away, grew rapidly. It was not only a trading center but was also the site of a state supported college, the predecessor of the current Mayville State University. Its local Masons wanted a Lodge of their own, and Dacotah Lodge came into existence in 1899.

The two Lodges flourished for many years, until the difficult years of the great depression of the 1930's. Members then decided that a merger should be effected. Grand Master Harry W. Gill issued a special order permitting the two Lodges to join in November, 1939. The members chose to keep the name Goose River Lodge, with its lower number, and the Lodge has continued to be a major factor in the social life of the two communities and their surrounding area.