A Rookie Mistake

Stony Creek Masonic Lodge No. 5 and Mount Moriah

Date Visited:  July 21, 2019

Stop:  #21

It was another perfect summer day – too nice to spend the day indoors recovering.  You see, we had been at a wedding and reception on Saturday, and we had a great time.  It was a late night, and there may have been some alcoholic beverages consumed.  But mostly, it was a lot of eating, dancing, talking, and laughing, and we were pretty wiped out Sunday morning.  But with the weather being so great, and with both my son and daughter home at the same time for the first time since we started our Michigan Wines and Signs quest, it seemed like a perfect day to spend on a quest.  The plan was to hit the many historical markers scattered around the Rochester area, and hit a couple of wineries in the area as well.  But as is the case far too many times, the best laid plans don’t always come to fruition.  We did make it to many historical markers, but because of a time constraint – my son needed to leave around 5:00 pm to get back to the west side of the state – we did not make it to any wineries as planned.  So, the next several blogs will focus on our visits to historical markers.

Our plan was to visit the Stony Creek Village Historic District first, located northeast of downtown Rochester off of Tienken Road.  There are three historical markers in this area, which is a popular tourist destination comprised of 17 historical buildings dating from the 1820’s and 1830’s.  This historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.  The most popular sites to visit are the Van Hoosen Farm and House, the Rochester Hills Museum, and the Stony Creek Schoolhouse.

We parked in the parking lot at the Van Hoosen Farm and decided that the first marker we would visit would be the Mount Moriah historical marker.  We walked through the parking lot to the Old Romeo Road Trail, a dirt and gravel path leading to Stony Creek and beyond.  The marker itself is located on the right side of the path as you are walking southwest, just before you get to the bridge that crosses the Stony Creek.

Mount Moriah was the name given to a large hill just west of the village of Stony Creek (founded 1823).  In 1847, the Stony Creek Masons decided to build a temple at the summit of Mount Moriah, and on July 4, 1849, the building was completed and dedicated in full Masonic honors.  This building had the distinction of being the first building in the state of Michigan built solely for Masonic purposes.  The building no longer exists – the lodge was moved to Rochester in 1853 and the building itself was dismantled and its materials used to build a barn.  The only existing evidence of the building is the cornerstone, which was incorporated into a Masonic monument erected at Stony Creek Cemetery in 1929.

The Temple itself was a modest octagonal wood frame structure, painted red, standing upon a stone foundation a few feet high.  The entrance was through a single door in the foundation and members had to use a ladder to get to the meeting room above.  The Stony Creek Masons built this Temple to commemorate that the Stony Creek Lodge, organized around 1825, was the oldest continuously operating lodge in Michigan at that time. 

Without any evidence of the building to explore, we took a few pictures, and then decided to explore the grounds in the area, totally forgetting to check the backside of the marker to ensure there wasn’t any additional information to read.  This was a rookie mistake because up until this time, we always checked the backside of the sign.  As a result, we completely missed the description of the Stony Creek Masonic Lodge No. 5, which is actually the FRONT side of the marker.  Once I realized my mistake (several days later), I knew I had to revisit the marker and get pics of the front side.  It wasn’t until August 25 when I finally returned to the scene of the rookie mistake, this time with just Kathy.  We could not park in the same parking lot as our first visit since they were hosting a private event (a wedding) at the Van Hoosen Farm, so I had to park at the beginning of the path.  Kathy did not have any interest in walking back to the sign, so I hoofed it up the path, read the sign, took the required pics for evidence, and returned to the car.

The frontside of the marker describes the early history of the area and the Stony Creek Masons.  The Masons had a strong presence in this area, and in or around 1825, William Burt led members of the Stony Creek Lodge in petitioning the Grand Lodge of Michigan for a charter.  The charter was approved in 1827 by the Grand Master, who just happened to be the governor of Michigan at that time and one of Michigan’s most famous historical figures, Lewis Cass.  However, the Grand Lodge suspended operations from 1829 until 1841 because of anti-Masonic mania sweeping the nation and the granting of the Stony Creek charter was delayed.  The Stony Creek Lodge continued to meet, whether it was at the local schoolhouse or in the homes of members, due to the efforts of Daniel Taylor, the tavern keeper at Stony Creek.  This was the only Masonic Lodge in Michigan that continued to meet during this period, and in 1844, the lodge was reconstituted.  The rest of the history was described in the Mount Moriah side of the marker.

After this experience, it will be a long time before we forget to check both sides of a sign again!!!  Now back to our regularly scheduled program, which will be continued on my next blog!!!

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