In 1851 and 1853, the Washington National Monument Society solicited the country's Grand Lodges of the Masonic Order to make stone contributions toward the construction of the monument. Although the specifications required memorial stones of a 4-ft. length, 2-ft. height and 12- to 18-inches thickness, the stones arrived in all sorts of sizes, made from marble, granite and sandstone. By 1855, a total of 22 Masonic memorial stones were contributed by 14 Grand Lodges and eight individual lodges, and their stones were placed at different height levels throughout the monument, according to the Scottish Rite Journal.
The first Masonic stone, located at the 50-foot landing, comprises two marble contributions from the District of Columbia: the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia and the Naval Lodge No. 4's contribution of the actual cornerstone of the memorial. Further up at the 110-foot level are stones from the Grand Lodges of Ohio, New York and Kentucky, each with a different design. The Ohio contribution includes the representative Masonic compass and square with the all-seeing eye, while the Kentucky stone contains the additional sword placed upon an image of the Constitution. The stone from New York includes only the square and compass, reports Tuckahoe Lodge 347.
The 120-foot level contains contributions from the Maryland Grand Lodge and three individual lodges. The marble stone from the Maryland Grand Lodge is dated 1850 and depicts Father Time holding a scythe and pointing to an open book on an altar while staring at the heavens. The Washington Lodge Number 21 New York is also made from marble, and it contains a compass on a Bible with a carved sun, a pendulum, a trowel and a triangle. The two other individual lodges are a marble stone from the Mount Lebanon Lodge No. 226 from Lebanon, Pennsylvania; and a granite stone donated from the Patmos Lodge No. 70 from Ellicott City, Maryland, according to Tuckahoe Lodge 347.
The 140-feet level contains the stones from three Grand Lodges: Alabama with its own individual seal of Masonic symbols (all-seeing eye, compass and square) set beneath an arch; Georgia with a 15-inch shield that contains a circle filled with Masonic symbols; and Illinois with a symbolic depiction of Father Time, offering support to a young maiden who holds a mallet resting on an open book.
Situated between the 160- and 180-foot levels are the stones from the Lafayette Lodge No. 64 from New York City; a granite stone from the Washington Lodge in Roxbury, Massachusetts; and the marble stone from the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, with its richly carved arch and keystone.
Located at the 200-foot level are two stones: a granite stone with a raised marble Bible from the St. John's Lodge No. 36 in Richmond, Virginia, and a granite stone from the Grand Lodge of Virginia that also contains a Bible. The 210-foot level includes a granite stone from the Grand Lodge of Iowa, and one of the most decorated stones in the monument from the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, which depicts the Masonic symbols with exaggerated shapes, an all-seeing eye with bushy eyebrows peeking out from a decorate letter "G." The final Mason stone, located at the 230-foot level, is the contribution from the Grand Lodge of Florida that contains a raised border framing a compass and square.
