The Charter was presented to the Lodge at a Special Communication held on June 21, 1900. M.W.Bro. Neil MacKelvie on instructions from the Grand Master, M.W. Bro. John Messervey, and accompanied by W.Bro. W.A. Brennan, Worshipful Master of King Hiram Lodge, presented the Charter and constituted the new Lodge. (The Charter presently hangs in the Lodge Room in Central Bedeque.)

Very little is known directly from the first twelve years of the Lodge’s history since the Minute Books have been lost for the period 1899-1912. The Lodge met on the first Monday of each month and still holds that tradition. The Lodge first met in a barn owned by W.Bro. W.H. Dougherty, a medical doctor at Cape Traverse Wharf and a Charter Member of the Lodge. Bro. Dougherty had his medical office in his barn where he also kept his horses. The Lodge Room was located upstairs above the medical offices. (Interview, W.Bro. Howard Clark PM, March 1, 2000) The Lodge paid annual rent of $15 until 1916 when it was raised to $20. W.Bro. Dougherty was an active supporter of the Lodge and served as Worshipful Master in 1914. (W.Bro. Dougherty’s name has been spelled incorrectly in several Masonic Records including the Charter of Mount Moriah Lodge and the Roll of Past Masters at True Brothers Lodge. His gravestone at Cape Traverse United Church Cemetery has been used as a reliable source in this History).

The first principal Officers of Mount Moriah Lodge were:

Worshipful Master	W.Bro. John Muirhead PM
Senior Warden	W.Bro. Alexander Strang PM
Junior Warden	W.Bro. Charles Doull PM

Historical Background

True Brothers Lodge was established in 1869 in Tryon as a mid-point for Masons between Charlottetown and Summerside. In 1869 the upper level of the Community Hall in Tryon was provided as a Lodge Room. The Hall was located on the west side of Route 10 across from the United Church Cemetery near the banks of the Tryon River. By 1890 the Lodge had a membership of thirty-four. Several Grand Masters had noted that the membership was very scattered geographically. Cape Traverse in the west and Crapaud/Victoria in the east had the largest number of Masons in the True Brothers Jurisdiction.