The history of Atlantic Phoenix is very interesting needless to say, and although chartered under the English Constitution, many people would believe that No. 224 was originally chartered by English Freemasons; but in fact this was not the case. In addition to the chartering, Atlantic Phoenix No. 224 did not originally start with No. 224, but to tell you all about it I need to go as far back as the year 1796.

St. George Lodge (Atlantic Phoenix as we know it today,)was petitioned for on March 20, 1796, with a strong recommendation from the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia. Unfortunately the petition was not received, or may have been neglected; nobody really knows for sure, and as a result a second petition was formed in April of 1797. It was this second petition that was sent via ship from Bermuda to Edinburgh, Scotland. On May 23, 1797 a charter was received from the Grand Lodge of England to establish St. George Lodge No. 307. The Charter was dated August 9, 1797, and was accompanied by a dispensation that allowed Bro. Van Norden to form a Grand Lodge. It was under this Grand Lodge that St. George Lodge No. 307 was formed under the Grand Lodge of England.

The records show that there a concern was put forward by the brethren of the St. Georges Lodge, No. 266. It was noted as a concern that there was one body of Mason's with two Lodges and two Charters; there was also only one property, which the brethren of No. 266 wanted to retain. Additionally, many of the brethren in Lodge No. 266 of the Grand Registry of Scotland wished to remian in that Lodge. As a result of this, the Provincial Grand Lodge held a meeting on March 20, 1800, and it was decided to seperate the two Lodges; St. George Lodge No. 307 of the Grand Registry of England was amicably separated from Lodge No. 266 of the Grand Registry of Scotland. It should be noted that although St. George Lodge No. 266 requested the separation, they would be ready to assist St. George Lodge No. 307, if they so desired. Once the separation took place, the Brethren of St. George Lodge No. 307 decided that they required their own meeting place. As a result they moved their meetings to a wooden building in Flatt's Village, which still stands today.

The building shown in the above picture is the first Lodge where St. George Lodge (Atlantic Phoenix)No. 307 first tiled. The building still stands today.	St. George Lodge (Atlantic Phoenix) No. 307 building from another angle

The first meeting was held on the Tuesday before the full moon of February in 1801. From that day forth, St. George Lodge No. 307 continued to meet at the house in Flatt's until the year 1810. It was in 1810, that the brethren decided to move the Lodge to the city of Hamilton. The brethren met regularly at a Coffee shop owned by Sampson Clarke, and then eventually moving to the Corporation of Hamilton's Customs Warehouse. It was during this time that a few brethren proposed that St. George Lodge No. 307 look to build a room specifically for the Lodge meetings and St. John's Day festivals. St John's Day seemed to be a note worthy date, as it seemed that brethren would often present proposals for tasks to occur on this day. It was on this day in 1817, that the Lodge Name of St. George No. 307 was changed to Atlantic Phoenix No. 307 . Unfortunately, Atlantic Phoenix No. 307 fell upon hard times after receiving the name change, and did not meet again until 1844. It was at this time that Atlantic Phoenix No. 307 met under the direction of Bro. Cornelius Seon; WM. It was during his term as WM that WM Cornelius Sean signed into effect the by-laws, along with Bro's Josiah Dickinson SW, Englesbe Seon; JW, James Tuzo; Treasurer and William B. Perot; Secretary. Once the By-laws had been changed, in that same year, Atlantic Phoenix No. 307 had its number changed to No. 271, and unfortunately in the same year, WM Sean Cornelius passed away.

On October 22, 1847 a proposal was put forward by the then building committee, which comprised of William B. Perot; Chairman, Rev. Robert Mantach, Rev. Henry Baker Tristram, Samuel P. Watson, James H. Trimingham, Thomas B. Jones and Charles M. Conyers, to erect a building that would cost 800 pounds. As mentioned earlier, it was on St. John's day that many events occurred, and it is noted in the records that it was on this day in1847 that the foundation stone was laid for the Masonic Hall. By 1849 the Masonic Hall was ready for occupation, although it was noted that the Hall construction had not completed. It was on St. John's Day in 1850 that the Hall was formally mentioned as being completed.

The Masonic Hall as it is today.	A second angle of the front of the Masonic Hall

The records show that Atlantic Phoenix continued with its work as usual over the following years. It was not until the year 1863 that Atlantic Phoenix No. 271 received its final number change, when it became No. 224 as it is known today.

To ensure that the information provided here is as accurate as possible, two books were used as references.The books are listed below as being:

• Atlantic Phoenix By-laws 1978
• Freemasonry Universal; Volume 1 -The Americas. Written by Kent Henderson & Tony Pope. Published 1998 by Global Masonic Publications.

Myths vs Truths of Free Masonry

Anyone who is not involved in or does not have a family member as Freemason may have questions or have heard myths surrounding the craft. Hopefully, the following myth vs truths table can take away some of that secrecy.

Myth	Truth
Freemasonry is a religion	Freemasonry is NOT a religion. In fact, being a Mason does not interfere with a member's current or future religious beliefs or responsibilities.
A Freemason has an obligation to protect his Brothers, even if that Brother commits a crime	Absolutely untrue. As Brothers we look out for each other, much the same way friends or relatives would look out for one another. However, it clearly states in Masonic rules that the law of your jurisdiction supercedes any promises made to the Craft or its members
Freemasonry is simply a boys club that only takes care of its own	One of the founding tenets of Freemasonry is Charity – towards each other, and to mankind. Freemasons have and continue to make significant financial donations to helping agencies, and also offer themselves for charitable work. We do it not for publicity, but because it is the right thing to do!
Freemasons Lodges do not solicit women as members	This is true. It is an organization for men – just as there are organizations which are exclusively for women. No further explanation is needed here.
Freemasonry is a “secret society”	Untrue. If it were a secret society, it would not be known to the public at all. Our buildings are clearly marked as Freemason Temples. Information is readily available in the library and the internet. The rituals however, are private.
Freemasons are forbidden to divulge the secrets of the Craft	True. We do promise not to tell non-masons any of the secrets of the organization – and as honorable men (a requirement to become a Mason), we keep our promise.
Masonic ritual includes the sacrifice or bloodletting of animals	Preposterous! There is no such activity in any of the Masonic ritual.
Masonic ritual includes some form of cannibalism or human sacrifice	Equally preposterous! If this did occur, we wouldn't have any members!
Freemasons are responsible for making and passing laws	This could be true – if a lawmaker also happens to be a Freemason. However, being a Freemason does not make you a lawmaker! Members of the Craft come from all walks and rank in life. All Masons, regardless of his place in society, are equal and consider each other as Brothers.