Georgia Fraternal Lodges

About Fraternal Organizations in Georgia

A deep look at the history, oldest lodges, membership process, and notable members of fraternal organizations across Georgia.

History of Fraternal Organizations in Georgia

Georgia's fraternal lodge culture stretches from the antebellum streets of Savannah and the cobbled squares laid out by James Oglethorpe to the modern boardrooms of midtown Atlanta. The state's lodges grew alongside its cotton, textile, railroad, and banking industries, and they helped knit together the white-collar, working-class, immigrant, and rural communities that built modern Georgia. Savannah, founded in 1733, was already a Masonic and benefit-society town in the eighteenth century, and by the late nineteenth century the city had Elks, Odd Fellows, and Knights of Columbus presences alongside its Masonic and Hibernian heritage. Atlanta, rebuilt and reinvented after the Civil War, became the South's fastest-growing city and a magnet for fraternal expansion.

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks chartered Atlanta Lodge No. 78 in 1885, less than two decades after the order's founding, making it one of the earliest Elks lodges in the southeastern United States. As Atlanta grew into a regional headquarters for railroads, Coca-Cola, banking, broadcasting, and eventually professional sports and the airline industry, its fraternal scene grew with it. The Knights of Columbus expanded across the Catholic communities of Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, Columbus, and Albany, often anchored at flagship parishes such as the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta and the Cathedral of St.

John the Baptist in Savannah. The Loyal Order of Moose built strong lodges in Atlanta, Macon, Columbus, Augusta, and a network of small-city locations across north Georgia and the coastal plain. Eagles aeries took hold in working-class neighborhoods and railroad towns. Lions, Rotary, and Kiwanis clubs are nearly ubiquitous across the state's 159 counties, with active service-club networks even in rural communities.

Georgia's fraternal organizations have produced civil-rights leaders, business titans, governors, and grassroots community organizers. The mid-twentieth century brought significant transformation as the state's Black fraternal traditions, including Prince Hall Masonry, the Knights of Pythias, and benefit societies tied to historically Black churches, played essential roles in the civil-rights era. Today Georgia's lodges anchor charitable programming worth millions of dollars annually, run scholarship and youth programs, and respond to community needs from Hurricane Michael recovery in southwest Georgia to tornado relief in metro Atlanta.

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks in Georgia

Atlanta Elks Lodge No. 78, chartered in 1885, is one of the oldest BPOE lodges in the southeastern United States and a foundational institution in Georgia's fraternal history. For more than a century the lodge has anchored Atlanta civic life, hosting community dinners, scholarship awards, and patriotic events. Lodge 78 has occupied multiple historic Atlanta buildings, including notable mid-century lodge homes that hosted dignitaries, business leaders, and civic clubs at the heart of the city's growth from a small railway hub to a global metropolis.

Savannah Elks Lodge No. 183, chartered in 1890, is the second flagship of Georgia BPOE history. Savannah's Elks have long been integrated into the city's civic and charitable scene, partnering with parade committees, the St. Patrick's Day celebrations the city is famous for, and Tybee Island community programs.

Across Georgia, BPOE lodges in Augusta, Macon, Columbus, Albany, Brunswick, Athens, Rome, Marietta, and dozens of smaller communities round out the Georgia State Elks Association. The state association coordinates the Hoop Shoot youth basketball competition, the Drug Awareness Program, the Major Project that supports Georgia children with special needs, and substantial scholarship awards distributed each spring. Georgia Elks members log tens of thousands of volunteer hours annually, support Georgia veterans through partnerships with the VA, and run reciprocal-visit programs with neighboring lodges in Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Atlanta Lodge 78 in particular has remained a major force despite waves of demographic change in central Atlanta, with active programming for younger members and a renewed focus on family-friendly events.

Loyal Order of Moose in Georgia

The Loyal Order of Moose has a powerful presence in Georgia, with lodges in Atlanta, Marietta, Decatur, Columbus, Augusta, Macon, Savannah, and dozens of smaller cities. Atlanta-area Moose lodges have been particularly strong, anchoring family-centered fraternal life across the metro region for more than a century. Georgia Moose lodges contribute substantial annual support to Mooseheart in Illinois and Moosehaven in Florida, and Georgia members frequently travel to both campuses for service trips, conventions, and reunions. The Georgia Moose Association coordinates state-level events, scholarship programs, and statewide fundraising drives.

Friday-night fish fries, Saturday dances, charity bingo, and the popular Sunday breakfasts keep Moose lodges humming year-round. Women of the Moose chapters and Moose Legion bodies provide additional layers of social and charitable activity. The Georgia Moose Association has produced multiple Moose International officers and has hosted national-level events at lodges across the state.

Eagles, Knights of Columbus & Other Fraternal Orders in Georgia

The Fraternal Order of Eagles operates aeries across Georgia, with strong concentrations in metro Atlanta, the Columbus military region around Fort Moore (formerly Fort Benning), and the coastal plain. Georgia Eagles support the order's signature charities including diabetes and kidney research, the Jimmy Durante Children's Fund, and local food-bank and disaster-relief programs. The Knights of Columbus operate one of the most active state councils in the South in Georgia. The Diocese of Savannah covers south Georgia and the Archdiocese of Atlanta covers the rest, and KC councils thrive at flagship parishes including the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta, Holy Spirit in Atlanta, the Cathedral of St.

John the Baptist in Savannah, St. Mary on the Hill in Augusta, and dozens more. Georgia Knights are deeply involved in pro-life ministry, the Tootsie Roll campaign benefiting people with intellectual disabilities, Coats for Kids, food drives, seminarian support, and disaster relief. Fourth Degree color corps members provide honor guards at parish events, civic celebrations, and military funerals across the state.

The Georgia State Council awards substantial scholarships annually and has been recognized at the Supreme Council level for membership growth.

Georgia Fraternal Lodges by the Numbers

Georgia is home to more than ten million residents and supports a robust fraternal lodge network. The Georgia State Elks Association includes roughly forty-five active lodges. The Georgia Moose Association lists more than fifty active lodges and chapters statewide. Eagles aeries number in the dozens.

Georgia's Knights of Columbus state council has more than 200 active councils. Lions Clubs International lists hundreds of Georgia clubs, with particularly strong rural representation. Rotary, Kiwanis, and Optimist Clubs round out the service-club roster in nearly every Georgia community. Combined active membership across these orders runs into the tens of thousands.

Charitable giving from Georgia fraternal organizations totals millions of dollars annually, with major programs including Elks scholarships, Knights of Columbus disaster-relief grants, Moose support for Mooseheart and Moosehaven, and countless local programs run by Lions, Rotary, and Kiwanis. The state association calendars show hundreds of fundraising events per year statewide.

How to Join a Fraternal Lodge in Georgia

Joining a Georgia fraternal lodge is straightforward and welcoming. Most Elks lodges accept U.S. citizens aged twenty-one and older who believe in God, with a current member as a sponsor; lodges welcome interested visitors who do not yet know a member. Initiation fees in Georgia typically run between fifty and two hundred dollars, with annual dues ranging from one hundred to three hundred dollars depending on the lodge.

Knights of Columbus membership is open to practicing Catholic men aged eighteen and older through online enrollment at kofc.org or in person at any parish council across the Archdiocese of Atlanta or Diocese of Savannah. The Loyal Order of Moose welcomes adults aged twenty-one and older, with women joining via the Women of the Moose. Eagles, Lions, Rotary, and Kiwanis all maintain straightforward applications and welcome new members of good moral character. Many Georgia lodges have moved to online dues payment, app-based event RSVPs, and family-night programming.

Atlanta lodges in particular have invested in younger-member outreach with after-work happy hours, charity 5K runs, and partnerships with corporate volunteer programs.

Notable Georgia Fraternal Members in History

Georgia's fraternal rolls feature a long list of public figures. Multiple Georgia governors past and present have held Elks, Moose, or Knights of Columbus membership during their political careers. U.S. senators and members of Congress from Georgia have addressed state fraternal conventions.

Atlanta mayors, including business and civic leaders, have been honored guests at Lodge 78 events. President Jimmy Carter, the Plains, Georgia native and 39th president, was widely respected by Georgia fraternal organizations and remains a touchstone for service-oriented civic life in the state. Civil-rights leaders connected to Atlanta's historic Auburn Avenue and to Ebenezer Baptist Church have shaped Georgia's Black fraternal tradition. Georgia-born and Georgia-based athletes from the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Hawks, and Atlanta United have been honored at hometown lodges, as have country and gospel music stars from across the state.

Less famous but no less important: hundreds of thousands of Georgia educators, firefighters, police officers, electricians, ironworkers, farmers, and small-business owners whose lodge service shapes communities every day.

Frequently Asked Questions: Georgia Fraternal Lodges

Sources & Further Reading

• https://www.elks.org/lodges/
• https://www.mooseintl.org/
• https://www.foe.com/
• https://www.kofc.org/en/index.html
• https://www.gakofc.org/
• https://www.lionsclubs.org/
• https://www.rotary.org/
• https://www.kiwanis.org/
• https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/