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PROVINCETOWN GUIDE
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| DIRECTORY |
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Provincetown :: Saturday, October 11th 2008
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Video by Michael DiGioia
King Hiram's Treasures
An Exhibit at the PMPM
By Kahrin Deines
July 30th, 2007
“Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master, what is the proper jewel of your office?” “The square.” “Have you applied the square to those parts of the stone that should be squared?” “I have, Most Worshipful Grand Master and the Craftsmen have done their duty.”
| The exhibit, “King Hiram’s Treasures,” features photographs and artifacts from both PMPM archives and the lodge’s collection. |
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A dialogue much like this took place on High Pole Hill on August 20 of 1907 when the Pilgrim Monument’s cornerstone was laid. President Theodore Roosevelt was present, as well as the governor of Massachusetts and many other leaders. But there was also a large contingent of Masons, including the Grand Master of Massachusetts, and they were the ones who ran the actual ceremony. Masons were often called on in those days to perform a cornerstone ceremony for public buildings, which involved using ancient tools to prove that the stone was square, plumb and level, as well as applications of corn, wine or oil as symbols of good fortune.
The laying of the cornerstone of the Pilgrim Monument, however, was not simply an event that the masons were asked to consecrate. It was the culmination of over fifty years of effort by members of Provincetown’s Masonic chapter, King Hiram’s Lodge, to secure state and federal funding for the purpose of building a monument in honor of the Pilgrim’s landing at land’s end.
Their involvement in the cornerstone ceremony, as well as their instigative role in the monument's construction, are currently being honored in a small exhibit about King Hiram’s Lodge at the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum (PMPM). The exhibit, “King Hiram’s Treasures,” features photographs and artifacts from both PMPM archives and the lodge’s collection.
Provincetown’s Masons began seeking funds for a monument as early as the 1850s, but it wasn’t until 1892 when a number of members of the chapter formed the Cape Cod Pilgrim Memorial Association that the drive for funding really got off the ground. By 1902, they had convinced the state to contribute $25,000 and, by 1906, the federal government joined in with $40,000.
The “King Hiram’s Treasures” exhibit is being presented in conjunction with the centennial of the laying of the monument’s cornerstone, which will be celebrated with a party, parade and reenactment on August 20. Lodge members will once again participate in the day’s ceremony. To find out more about the centennial, go to www.pilgrim-monument.org or call 508.487.1310.
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