Brief History of Camon Lodge No.343 F. & A. M.
On August 20, 1866 Brothers Josiah (Syrus) Fults and Thomas Essex of Taylorsville Lodge No.238 along with Brothers Charles H. Butler and Joseph McQueen of St. Johns Lodge No.20 presented a petition to Hope Lodge No.150 asking them to recommend themselves and others to the Grand Lodge of Indiana to form a new Lodge in Clifford, Indiana. By unanimous vote of Hope Lodge, the Petition was presented to the Grand Lodge in the fall of 1866.
A Dispensation was granted by the Grand Lodge of Indiana to form a Lodge in Clifford, Indiana on May 31, 1866. The dispensation was granted under the name of Clifford Lodge No.343 U.D.
On May 29, 1867 a Charter was granted, by the Grand Lodge of Indiana, to Camon Lodge No.343.
The Lodge consisted of fifteen charter members: Josiah Fults, Rufus H. Roupe, Charles H. Butler, Joshua D. McQueen, A.P. Bone, Joshua H. Norton John S. Carter, John Nading, Dailey Joiner, Hugh Snyder, William R. L. McQueen, Mansel Hughes, James Nading, Philip Talkington and Jesse Beard.
Sometime between the Dispensation date and the Charter date (toward the end of 1866 and the beginning of 1867), the name was changed from Clifford to Camon. Camon is a Hebrew word meaning “Standing Place” or “Fastness”, it is also referred to as “His Resurrection”. It can be found in the Bible in Judges 10:5 stating that it was a city of Gilead where Jair, judge of Israel, was buried. Dwight L. Smith in “Magic of a Name” – Part three, in the Indiana Freemason magazine, November 1961, accepts the biblical origin in Judges and says that this is the only Lodge of that name reported in Digest prepared by the Masonic Service Association of the United States as of 1938.
One big mystery remains today… Why was the name changed from Clifford to Camon?
Well, there have been several explanations over the years. The first explanation being, that the members of the Lodge, after a stated meeting, in March of 1867, met at the residence of Josiah Fultz and had a lengthy conversation regarding the recommendation by one of the members to change the name from Clifford to Camon.
The second explanation being, that a name change was proposed and accepted to change the name from Clifford to Canaan, but the Brother who wrote down the name was a poor speller and wrote down Camon instead. Naturally the Grand Lodge official who received the request would not have known it was a misspelling if no reason for the name was given and thus might have perpetuated the error.
The third explanation being, that the brothers of the Lodge wanted a unique name, so that the Lodge name would stand out above the rest of the Lodges and therefore decided to choose a name from the Bible.
On August 20, 1866 Brothers Josiah (Syrus) Fults and Thomas Essex of Taylorsville Lodge No.238 along with Brothers Charles H. Butler and Joseph McQueen of St. Johns Lodge No.20 presented a petition to Hope Lodge No.150 asking them to recommend themselves and others to the Grand Lodge of Indiana to form a new Lodge in Clifford, Indiana. By unanimous vote of Hope Lodge, the Petition was presented to the Grand Lodge in the fall of 1866.
A Dispensation was granted by the Grand Lodge of Indiana to form a Lodge in Clifford, Indiana on May 31, 1866. The dispensation was granted under the name of Clifford Lodge No.343 U.D.
On May 29, 1867 a Charter was granted, by the Grand Lodge of Indiana, to Camon Lodge No.343.
The Lodge consisted of fifteen charter members: Josiah Fults, Rufus H. Roupe, Charles H. Butler, Joshua D. McQueen, A.P. Bone, Joshua H. Norton John S. Carter, John Nading, Dailey Joiner, Hugh Snyder, William R. L. McQueen, Mansel Hughes, James Nading, Philip Talkington and Jesse Beard.
Sometime between the Dispensation date and the Charter date (toward the end of 1866 and the beginning of 1867), the name was changed from Clifford to Camon. Camon is a Hebrew word meaning “Standing Place” or “Fastness”, it is also referred to as “His Resurrection”. It can be found in the Bible in Judges 10:5 stating that it was a city of Gilead where Jair, judge of Israel, was buried. Dwight L. Smith in “Magic of a Name” – Part three, in the Indiana Freemason magazine, November 1961, accepts the biblical origin in Judges and says that this is the only Lodge of that name reported in Digest prepared by the Masonic Service Association of the United States as of 1938.
One big mystery remains today… Why was the name changed from Clifford to Camon?
Well, there have been several explanations over the years. The first explanation being, that the members of the Lodge, after a stated meeting, in March of 1867, met at the residence of Josiah Fultz and had a lengthy conversation regarding the recommendation by one of the members to change the name from Clifford to Camon.
The second explanation being, that a name change was proposed and accepted to change the name from Clifford to Canaan, but the Brother who wrote down the name was a poor speller and wrote down Camon instead. Naturally the Grand Lodge official who received the request would not have known it was a misspelling if no reason for the name was given and thus might have perpetuated the error.
The third explanation being, that the brothers of the Lodge wanted a unique name, so that the Lodge name would stand out above the rest of the Lodges and therefore decided to choose a name from the Bible.