Orange Lodge No. 14, A. F. M. was formed by The Grand Lodge of South Carolina Ancient York Masons in 1789. The first meeting of the Lodge was held May 28, 1789, at David Burger’s public house on Queen Street. The gathered lodge voted its first Worshipful Master James Allison; Senior Warden William Stewart; Junior Warden Alexander Cameron; Treasurer William Barre; Secretary William Leslie; and Stewards George Taylor and Edward Morgan. Within the first year the lodge grew to thirty members.

The name Orange Lodge seems to reflect the Protestant Irish and Scotsmen that formed the early lodge. In the preceding century supporters of King William III, formerly Prince William of Orange, were referred to colloquially as “Orangemen”.

The Masonic record of the Lodge has been a notable one. Orange Lodge is the mother of Royal Arch Masonry in South Carolina. An interesting fact is that the original charter gave to Orange Lodge the right to confer the Royal Arch Degree. On July 11, 1796: "A motion was made by Brother James Allison, seconded, and unanimously agreed to that this Lodge sanction the opening of a Royal Arch Chapter under its jurisdiction. At a regular meeting, held January 3, 1803, the first Royal Arch Chapter in the State was established in Charleston under the authority of the warrant of Orange Lodge No. 14.

During this time period, there was no Masonic Hall or regular Lodge room in Charleston. Lodges met in their favorite “long room” or accommodating spaces in hotels and taverns. Orange Lodge met in the "Merchants and Planters Hotel," at the corner of Queen and Church Streets, now the Dock Street Theater.

On May 5, 1812, however, a Lodge room regularly set apart for Masonic purposes at the northwest corner of Meeting and Market Streets (now the Daughters of the Confederacy Museum) was formally consecrated in the presence of the officers of the Grand Lodge (York), the Rev. Israel Munds officiating as Chaplain. Here Orange Lodge regularly met until the destruction of the building by fire July 5, 1819, when the chest containing jewels and furniture was consumed. This was a severe loss, but the generosity of individual members and the zeal of the brethren enabled the Lodge to immediately resume with a new outfit.

In 1824, the twelve remaining members of Lodge No. 5 proposed to merge with Orange No. 14. Lodge No. 5 brought with them their funds, jewels and furniture and its members to become life members of Orange. It will be noted that Orange did not adopt the No. 5, although entitled to do so, probably because the members preferred to retain the number 14, so closely identified with its history.

The great and historic Charleston fire of 1838 destroyed a large a part of the city, also consumed the building and lodge room. In 1841, the Grand Lodge erected a Masonic Hall at the corner of King and Wentworth Streets. This Masonic Hall operated for many decades and hosted other fraternal organizations including the Washington Light Infantry militia battalion.

At the outbreak of the War Between the States, Orange Lodge was in a very prosperous position. During the conflict, the Lodge and members suffered greatly during service and families. When the Federal troops began bombarding Morris Island, Orange Lodge and their brethren sent their records, furniture and jewels to Columbia for storage. However, Sherman’s army decimated Columbia along with the rest of the state. All of these valuable and interesting records, as well as the long cherished jewels, were either stolen or burned. Consequently, the known incidents relating to the history of the Lodge prior to 1865 were reduced to meagre private recollections, but the minutes were fortunately preserved and authenticated.

At the close of the Civil War, Orange Lodge found itself greatly reduced to a small membership and an empty treasury. The Lodge’s investments were found to be totally insolvent, and the members also had in most instances been reduced to poverty, while there were never before so many stricken widows and orphans to provide for. In I865 there were but forty-one members of the Lodge. In 1866 forty-six degrees were conferred, truly a remarkable record. Yet, during these times, there was no lapse in the character of the work, the scrutiny of applicants and the strict enforcement of the by-laws. The minutes of that period show that rejections were very frequent and that all members were held to strict accountability.

Past Master Robert Stewart Bruns (1859-60, 1866) contacted Northern Masons who sought to aid their brothers who had displayed kindness during the War. Northern brothers donated a splendid and generous fund of $20,000 for the relief of widows and orphans of South Carolina Masons. He was in his day one of the most widely known Masons in the United States, and it was largely through his writings and zeal in the cause that the Grand Lodge of South Carolina attained its distinguished position among the Grand Lodges of America.

At the Lodge of Sorrow in memory of those killed in the Confederate Army, a number of brother Masons, officers in the Federal Army, asked to be allowed to assist in draping the Lodge room; the Catafalque was erected by them and upon the coffin two crape-draped swords belonging to Federal officers were at their request--placed.

In February 12, 1866, the Lodge received a set of regalia as a present from Sagamore Lodge, No. 371, of New York City, and the old regalia was donated to Bruns Lodge of Marlboro, S. C., which had been named in honor of P. M. R. S. Bruns of Orange. The jewels now in use by Orange Lodge were presented by certain brethren in Boston, Mass., accompanied by the following beautiful letter:

Boston, Oct. 23, A. L. 5866.

Brethren of Orange Lodge, No. 14, A. F. M. Charleston, S. C.

Be pleased to accept this case of jewels as a slight tribute from your brethren in Massachusetts, of the Masonic and brotherly feeling which pervades our hearts, and as a token of our sympathy with you in your losses. May you be reminded when you look upon these jewels that there are warm Masonic hearts even in cold New England, and that the chain which binds us together can never be broken by party feeling, sectional animosities or religious creeds; and may the time come when this chain shall be extended over the whole country, binding our States more firmly together and blending their separate stars in one golden halo of light.

Fraternally,

JOHN K. HALL, RICHARD M. BRIGGS, J. M. RODACANCHI.

These jewels were accepted with the most grateful thanks by the members of Orange Lodge to replace the much cherished jewels lost in Columbia. These Boston brethren were made honorary members of the Lodge and as one brother aptly expressed the spirit of the occasion when seconding a resolution of thanks:

"Boston and Charleston politically have been, and perhaps still are, the antipodes of each other, but when influenced by the mystic tie they not only approach, but become one and inseparable."

These honorary members kept in touch with the Lodge for many years afterwards, and the jewels then presented are among the most prized possessions of Orange Lodge today. The marble altar which now stands in the Lodge room was presented through Past Master R. S. Bruns, in 1868, by brethren in Washington, D. C., for the use of the fraternity in Charleston.

In 1874 the Lodge held a communication to celebrate simultaneously its eighty-fifth anniversary and the fiftieth anniversary of the Masonic life of Past Master John H. Honour, D. D., a patriarch of Masonry who had labored unceasingly in behalf of the Lodge and at intervals been repeatedly called to the chair.

This Reverend Brother in addressing. the gathering on that occasion pointed out, as an illustration of the steady devotion of the members of Orange Lodge, that the W. M. at the time of his initiation fifty years before, the venerable Dr. St. John Phillips, was even then present in the Lodge room.

During the years that followed there were periods of depression when the Lodge found itself struggling to maintain a proper footing, but it was maintained, and in the main each year saw an advance. The rule as to life members, now happily done away with, by which a member was entitled to exemption from dues for life after being a member of the Lodge for a stated time caused great stringency in the treasury and discouragement to the younger members, a portion of whose dues went to pay the Grand Lodge dues of the life members.

May 28, 1889, the centennial celebration of the Lodge was held. This was a notable occasion, and the memorial tablet now on the walls of the Lodge room was then unveiled in the presence of a very large gathering of the Craft.

Brother Charles Inglesby, a Past Master of the Lodge and Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge, who for many years was one of the main supports of Orange, delivered an eloquent and instructive address in which was incorporated much of the history of the Lodge, and to which we are much indebted.

The recent history of the Lodge has fortunately been a period of unbroken prosperity and uneventful expansion, while the work has been maintained at a high level.

The part taken by members of the Lodge in the general jurisdiction has been notable from the beginning to the present time. Orange Lodge has furnished to the Grand Lodge six Grand Masters, (including one head of the "Ancient York" Lodge), three Grand Secretaries and two Grand Treasurers; and there has never been a time when among the leaders of the Craft in South Carolina the Lodge has not been well represented. In the general affairs of the community at large, in all walks of life, and in the activities of commerce, literature and public life, members of the Lodge have taken a leading part. Many noted men have been members, among them W. Gilmore Simms, the distinguished historian and novelist, who was one of the most active members, and delivered a series of Masonic lectures before the Lodge in 1867.

In reviewing its long record, the character of the men who have been associated with its affairs and its many laudable activities, it is impossible to escape the conclusion that besides a notable Masonic record, Orange Lodge has been a positive force for good in the community at large.

Olde Charles Towne Lodge was formed in 1965 at the St. Andrew’s Lodge on Wapoo Road. In 1996, Olde Charles Towne proposed merging with Orange 14 and completed the merger in 1997 at the second Masonic Hall renamed the Charleston County Masonic Center in Charleston’s West Ashley suburb.

A fact which stands out as preeminent in the history of our Lodge, and one of which every member has reason to be proud, is that from the date of its organization to the present the Lodge has never suspended work, but regularly held its communications throughout every period of trial and discouragement. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Grand Lodge of S.C. forbade lodge meetings and this period does not imperil the lodge’s record of continuous work.

Orange Lodge has survived periods of trial and gathered new strength in surmounting the perils of fire, hatred and war, which threatened from without solely, because within harmony, that "chief strength and support," has in all essentials forever prevailed.

At this day we find the Lodge with a vigorous membership of Master Masons, no element of discord, and a well-filled treasury. With unity, peace and plenty, surely here is every prospect on which to base a prediction for at least another century of honorable history; and “so mote it be”.