Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas
The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas is recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England as a sovereign foreign grand lodge — one of the few Prince Hall bodies in the world to hold this status. It was chartered on February 27, 1950, by the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of New York, consolidating into a single sovereign jurisdiction the Prince Hall lodges that had operated in the islands for decades. The first Grand Master was William Watson Thompson. The grand lodge received UGLE recognition in 2003, formalizing what had long been acknowledged as a regular and well-ordered Masonic jurisdiction.
The grand lodge’s lineage runs directly to African Lodge No. 459, chartered by the Grand Lodge of England on September 29, 1784, via the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and subsequently the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of New York. This lineage places the Bahamas Prince Hall Grand Lodge in the oldest continuous tradition of organized Freemasonry in the African diaspora.
In parallel, the District Grand Lodge of the Bahamas & Turks operates English Constitution lodges across Nassau and the Turks and Caicos Islands as an overseas district of UGLE. Both bodies are recognized by UGLE, and fraternal interchange between them is well established. Visiting Masons from UGLE-recognized jurisdictions will find active lodges under both bodies in Nassau, and the Bahamas Masonic community is known throughout the Caribbean as especially welcoming to traveling Brethren.
The Prince Hall Grand Lodge operates lodges throughout Nassau and the Family Islands, including Royal Eagle Lodge No. 1, St. Glenelg Lodge No. 2, and St. James Masonic Lodge No. 3, among others.
The Bahamas became an independent nation within the Commonwealth in 1973, and the Prince Hall Grand Lodge — one of a very small number of PHA bodies worldwide to hold UGLE sovereign grand lodge recognition — has served as the primary Masonic authority since long before independence. Today the grand lodge serves lodges across the Bahamian archipelago’s inhabited islands, maintaining UGLE recognition and active fraternal relations with grand lodges throughout the Americas. Nassau, on New Providence Island, is the center of Masonic activity in the Bahamas.
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