About Us


The Yorba Linda Masonic Hall was originally erected in 1913 as a community center by Philip Ley who rented the space to organizations and local businesses. The building was home to the first drug store of the town, owned by Mr. Kaueffer, a Belgian, who sold to Mr. W. G. Cannon. The Cannons lived in rooms at the rear of the drug store.

The first floor meeting hall on the north side of the building has been utilized in many different ways by the citizens of Yorba Linda. It has been the dining hall for various lodge functions as well as used for dinners put on by various community organizations. The Rotary Club and the Christian Science Society met there for several years. Yorba Linda City Hall occupied the entire first floor for a period of time. Joncolby Salon now occupies the front part of the first floor and the Masons use the rest of the building.

The Building was renovated in 1986 and additional space was added to the rear of the building which now houses several offices and an elevator. The building was re-dedicated by the Grand Master of Masons in California on August 23, 1986 and a new symbolic cornerstone was laid in the northeast corner of the building. A time capsule was placed behind it with instructions to retrieve its contents in 50 years.

The Masons organized in Yorba Linda in 1918. They celebrated their fiftieth anniversary in 1968, on the 6th of June, when the Grand Master of Masons of California was present. The first Worshipful Master of the lodge was J. W. Newell, a gold mining engineer. Mr. Carl Seamans was the second master of the lodge.

Yorba Linda was the only Southern California Lodge to receive its charter in 1918. In order to form, it needed the consent of the nearest lodge – which was in Fullerton (now Gateway #339 in Brea). There was initially some dissent among the members of Fullerton, but ultimately they had faith that the resiliance of the Yorba Linda group could make it happen.

The charter members of the lodge were: James W. Newell, Master, Carl H. Seamans, William C. Fricke, Jr., Victor H. Robertson, Henry E. Carver, Daniel A. Speer, Charles W. Blattner, Edwin L. Gilman, William O. Howey, A. Russell Lupton, Scane E. Spencer, George L. Calkins, James A. Logdon, Edmund E. Knight, Frank L. Shephard, Walter R. Milhous, and James D. Boughner.

In 1950 membership was approximately 125. In 2014 membership is more than 225.