Welcome to the Mount Moriah Masonic Display Lodge, named after Mount Moriah Lodge, the first Masonic lodge in the London District. The original double storey white frame building still stands at 1184 Hamilton Road, London and was known as the Siddall House, named after its owner John Siddall from England who was an early settler in this district. Mount Moriah Lodge held its meetings in this building from 1820 to 1829.

This building is the original Pond Mills Public School SS No. 4. The school, located at Pond Mills in Westminster Township, built in 1860 and closed in 1951, was moved to the Village in 1975. Before 1995, the building was basically used for storage purposes.

In 1995, the 1992 Masters of the London East and West Districts, initiated a project to establish a Masonic display lodge in the Village. Permission was granted to use the Pond Mills School in return for providing financial assistance to build a storage barn behind the Jury House in the Village.

In 1995, as founding members of the project, the 1992 Masters funded the installation of a new roof for the building, and new facia and soffitts to seal the building from the environment and the ingress of raccoons. At this time, the formal fund raising phase of the project began.

In January 2000, sufficient funds had been generated to commence the restoration of the building. The interior was completely gutted, the walls and ceiling insulated, and new walls and ceiling installed. A partition wall was added to form the ante room.

In 2001, the finishing of the interior commenced, followed by the furnishing in 2002. Instrumental in the completion of this work was the assistance and leadership of many local masons who contributed their time and skills. Major financial donations were made by both individuals and various Masonic bodies including Heritage Lodge. Various furnishings were obtained from lodges in Ontario; some furnishings are still required such as two small desks for the secretary and treasurer, a tracing board, collars and wands. Skilled labour is also required to refurbish two antique gas lamps and lay bricks on the exterior of the building. A history of the project will be written and all donors and contributors will be properly acknowledged.

$10,000.00 will be required at a later date to cover the cost of replacing the framed exterior peaks of the building with brick.

The objective of the building is to convey the constant and stable nature of Freemasonry to the general public as exemplified by life in a late 1800’s Ontario crossroads community. The building and its interpreters will remind the many visitors to the Village of the historic and distinguished presence of Freemasonry in our society.

This Lodge belongs to the Masons of the London and Southwestern Ontario region for their in the interface with the public concerning Freemasonry; as such it can be considered a forum for Public Information for Freemasonry.

The next phase of the project is the establishment of an interpreter program, similar to that which operates at the Black Creek Pioneer Village in North York. When interpreters are present, visitors will have access to the lodge room and will be able to view it from the roped off area. It is important that an interpreter can provide reasonable and accurate answers to questions raised by non-Masonic visitors who come from all parts of the world and are of a variety of religious backgrounds. Some of the common questions asked by visitors to the Black Creek Pioneer Village are:

What is Freemasonry?
I understand that you are a secret society.
Is Freemasonry a religion?
What does the "G" stand for?

An interpreter is an educator and a host, providing Masonic education to the general public while relating the past to the present. The interpretation program involves your time to interpret the past in the present to insure the well being of Freemasonry in the future.

Please consider volunteering your time to serve as an interpreter. An interpreter program training workshop has been tentatively scheduled for London in the fall of 2002.

The slogan for the Mount Moriah Project is: Resurrecting the past .... to secure the future