Friendship Lodge is the first freshwater lodge in the state of Rhode Island, and some even say possibly it is the first in the country. A freshwater lodge is any lodge that is built away from the ocean. Up until Friendship was created, all of the state lodges were built on, or near the ocean or the bay. There was a need in Rhode Island for a freshwater lodge, for there were a number of masons who did not have a convenient place to meet. These masons lived in the northwest 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.