2. The Masons are in Charge of George Washington’s Inaugural Bible
Among the Masonic Hall’s collection of historic items is the bible used during President George Washington’s inauguration at Federal Hall. Washington was sworn in by Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, the Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York at the time in 1789. The story goes, that when it was discovered there was no Bible for Washington to swear on, the Grand Marshal of the parade and also Grand Master of St. John’s Lodge No. 1, Jacob Morton, offered to run and grab the lodge’s altar bible from the lodge which was then headquartered at the Old Coffee House on the corner of Water and Wall Streets. The Altar Bible of St. John’s Lodge No. 1 was also used at the inauguration of presidents Warren G. Harding in 1921, Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953, Jimmy Carter in 1977, and George H. W. Bush in 2001, and has made appearances at other historic events such as the 1964 World’s Fair, the introduction of Croton water into New York City in 1840, and the dedication of the Washington monument in 1885. The Bible is a King James version printed in London in 1767 and contains additional historical, astronomical and legal data from the period as well as artistic steel engravings that portray Biblical narratives.
St. John’s Lodge No. 1, which was warranted in 1757, is the oldest operating lodge under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of New York Free and Accepted Masons and one of the oldest in the country. When the Bible is not being used by the lodge – which does still actively use it – or on tour, it is on display in Federal Hall.
