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Chapel Hill and Charlotte: |
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Masons built UNC and Hezekiah Alexander’s house in true lodge form
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America’s oldest state university is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, opened in 1795. North Carolina’s oldest remaining Masonic meeting place is the 1774 Hezekiah Alexander Homesite in Charlotte.
Both were designed and constructed by Masons in due Masonic form.
The original buildings--Old East, Old West, South Building and the Old Well--stand today in the form of one massive Masonic lodge.The University was dedicated and led by Masons.
More evidence of Masonic Chapel Hill can be seen in early buildings named for William R. Davie and Zebulon B. Vance. And in historic plaques. And in library archives of Masonic documents from all over the state. And in lodges throughout the area.
Hezekiah Alexander built his stone house at the Charlotte end of the old wagon trail from Philadelphia. He faced it exactly south and inscribed many Masonic signs and symbols. He personally positioned them on the face of his house in the traditional plan of a Masonic lodge: master in the east, senior warden in the west, junior warden in the south, tyler at the door.
To Masons, architecture and construction are symbolic of their fraternity’s commitment to God as the Supreme Architect of the Universe. From mosaic pavement to formally laying of cornerstones, from squares-and-compasses to trowels, Masons are never more than a hair’s distance from construction symbolism.
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Produced by the public relations committee of the Grand Lodge AF&AM of Masons in North Carolina,
2921 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27628 MMVIII
Author/editor: Walter J. Klein wklein(at)carolina.rr.com
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