The founding fathers of Lincoln Lodge #544 , for the most part, are recorded on the walls of the Lodge in pictorial form. The old minute books contain facts pertinent to the operation of the lodge. Although one may catch some flavour of what was going on at that time through these written words, much of the emotion and excitement of those early days is lost with those who lived them.

In the year 1917, several Masons living in the Abingdon and surrounding area and predominantly members of Harmony Lodge #57 in Binbrook, decided to attempt to form a Masonic Lodge in the area. To house the lodge, the Presbyterian Church of Abingdon, which had been closed, was purchased for the sum of $200. It was then moved to its present location across from the Abingdon United Church, on a lot purchased from Mr. A. Stewart for the price of $40.

The proposed membership then petitioned Grand Lodge for dispensation to form a new lodge and the first meeting was held on August 26, 1918.

After having satisfied proper procedure by working under dispensation for a period of one year, a Charter was granted on Sept. 15, 1919. The Lodge was dedicated and consecrated by Grand Lodge on Oct. 13, 1919. For this momentous meeting, there were present 110 members and visitors, the first real test of a building that was built to house a congregation of approximately 60 people.

The first officers of Lincoln Lodge were installed on Jan. 2, 1920. The roll echoes the names of the founding fathers of the community. They were as follows:

                                1920

Worshipful Master - Rt. Wor. Bro. J.F. Senn

Senior Warden - Bro. J.M. Lymburner

Junior Warden - Bro. Seth Parker

Chaplain - Bro. Hugh Asher

Treasurer - Bro. Fred Green 

Secretary - Bro. Stan Young

Senior Deacon - Bro. C.H. Snyder

Junior Deacon - Bro. J.F. McDougall

Director of Ceremonies - Bro. C. Lymburner

Senior Steward - Bro. M. Bush

Junior Steward - Bro. F. McKinnell

Inner Guard - Bro. W. Marshall

Tyler - Bro. E. Swick

Other members of the first lodge were as follows: Bros. W. Young, John Warner, James Warner, J. Senn, J. Knox, and F. Bartlett.

Because transportation to and from lodge consisted of horse and buggy, meetings were held on the Friday on or before the full moon. Due to the amount of business and the number of degrees conferred, meetings often ran as late as 11:30 to 12:00 p.m.

Some items of note from those early years were the fact that Wor. Bro. Stanley Young served as Secretary for a total of 11 years, first from 1918 to 1923 and then from 1933 to 1939.

Another item of note was observed on the evening of Oct. 3, 1930 when Wor. Bro. Haney Packham installed his twin brother, Wor. Bro. Henry Packham, as Worshipful Master.

And to tie us to the present, the first hydro bill received by the lodge was in January 1937. The amount—$3.46.

The anteroom has been renovated and reconfigured, the lathe and plaster has been covered with vinyl board, the floor has been rugged and the heating source inside the lodge room is now electric. Otherwise, the legacy left to us by our early members remains very much the same.

To our Masonic forefathers we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude for their courage, their commitment, and their foresight. May we also have inherited the same.

"How have we wrought this mighty hundred years?

We caught the plumb line, level and the square

From hands of those whose faith outweighed their fears

And gave them strength which we in turn might share." --from the poem

"The Hundred Years"

by Wilbur Nesbit

Contributed by Victor Lepp