Friendship Lodge is the first fresh water lodge in the state of Rhode Island, and some even say possibly it is the first in the country.  A fresh water lodge is any lodge that is built away from the ocean.  Up until Friendship was created, all of the state lodges where built on, or near the ocean or the bay.  There was a need in Rhode Island for a fresh water lodge, for there were a number of masons that did not have a convenient place to meet.  These masons lived in the North West corner of the state, too far away from any of the 6 existing lodges in the state.  In the year of 1800 this all changed.  A group of men from the area of Glocester took the necessary steps to form a lodge of their own. MORE>>