Vermont Fraternal Lodges

About Fraternal Organizations in Vermont

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

History of Fraternal Organizations in Vermont

Vermont's fraternal history is shaped by the state's small population, dispersed villages, and stubborn tradition of town-level democracy. The Green Mountain State has only ever had two cities of any significant size, Burlington and Rutland, and the rest of its population is spread across more than 250 small towns and villages, each with its own town meeting, town hall, and surprisingly often its own lodge. The Grange, formally the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, was historically the most influential fraternal order in Vermont because it fit the state's agricultural economy so neatly. Vermont chartered its State Grange in 1872, and at the order's peak in the early twentieth century there were more than 250 active Grange halls in the state, more than one per town.

Many Grange halls still stand, some converted to community centers, some still hosting active subordinate Granges that meet monthly to coordinate local agriculture, host suppers, and run scholarship programs. Alongside the Grange, Vermont supported a strong network of Masonic lodges, with the Grand Lodge of Vermont chartered in 1794 making it one of the oldest in the country, and the major American fraternal orders all eventually arrived. Burlington Elks Lodge No. 916, chartered in 1904, became the flagship Elks lodge in northern Vermont and remains active.

Rutland, Brattleboro, Saint Johnsbury, Bennington, Montpelier, Barre, Newport, Springfield, and Saint Albans all chartered Elks lodges in the early twentieth century. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows had once been particularly strong in Vermont and operated lodges in nearly every county. The Loyal Order of Moose and the Fraternal Order of Eagles found supporters in the state's working-class communities, particularly the granite-cutting towns of Barre, the marble towns of Proctor and West Rutland, and the railroad towns along the Connecticut River. The Knights of Columbus came in with French Canadian and Irish Catholic immigration, with strong councils in Burlington, Winooski, Saint Albans, Rutland, and Brattleboro.

Vermont's small size means that fraternal life has always been more intimate than in larger states, and lodges often function as community-wide institutions rather than as enclaves of any single trade or class. Town fairs, maple sugar festivals, and Memorial Day parades almost always run through fraternal halls. The state's twentieth-century population stability, with relatively low immigration and a slow shift from farming to services and tourism, has meant that Vermont lodges have aged gracefully but also feel acutely the national fraternal membership decline of the past five decades.

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks in Vermont

Burlington Elks Lodge No. 916, chartered in 1904, is one of Vermont's oldest and most prominent BPOE lodges. It draws from the Champlain Valley, the University of Vermont community, and the wider Burlington-South Burlington-Winooski metro area. Rutland Elks Lodge No.

345 traces its history back to the late nineteenth century and reflects the prosperity of Vermont's marble industry. Saint Johnsbury Elks Lodge No. 1343 has long anchored the Northeast Kingdom. Brattleboro, Bennington, Montpelier, Barre, Newport, Springfield, and Saint Albans all chartered lodges of their own.

Vermont Elks lodges have a strong tradition of pediatric and special-needs charitable work and partner with the state to operate the Vermont Elks Charities, which funds therapy and equipment for children. Hoop Shoot, scholarship programs through the Elks National Foundation, and veterans' service work, particularly at the White River Junction Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, are mainstays of Vermont Elks programming. The state association is small relative to those in more populous states but consistently among the higher per-capita performers in scholarship donations and Hoop Shoot participation.

Loyal Order of Moose in Vermont

The Loyal Order of Moose found supporters in Vermont's industrial pockets, particularly the Barre granite quarries, the Rutland and Proctor marble industry, and the railroad and machine-tool centers along the Connecticut River. Burlington Moose Lodge, Rutland Moose Lodge, Saint Albans Moose Lodge, Springfield Moose Lodge, and several smaller community lodges have operated for decades. Vermont Moose lodges have historically focused on local family relief, scholarship support, and sponsorship of youth athletics, in addition to support for the order's national Mooseheart and Moosehaven projects. Although Vermont Moose membership numbers are not large in absolute terms, the lodges that remain active are well-connected to their communities, and Friday-night fish fries and Saturday-night dances in the Vermont Moose halls remain reliable features of small-town life.

Eagles, Knights of Columbus & Other Fraternal Orders in Vermont

The Fraternal Order of Eagles operates several aeries in Vermont, including Burlington, Rutland, Saint Albans, and Brattleboro. The Eagles' national charitable focus on diabetes research and children's hospitals fits well with Vermont's strong network of medical care and community hospitals, and Vermont aeries have raised consistent funds for the University of Vermont Medical Center. The Knights of Columbus, however, is in some ways the more nationally connected Catholic fraternal order in Vermont, given the state's substantial French Canadian and Irish Catholic populations. Burlington Council 263, chartered in 1898, is one of the oldest councils in New England.

Saint Albans Council, Winooski Council, Rutland Council, and Brattleboro Council all anchor large parishes within the Diocese of Burlington. Vermont Knights of Columbus run Coats for Kids drives in winter, sponsor seminarians, support the Diocese of Burlington's Catholic schools and parish ministries, and maintain a strong pro-life and family-oriented programming agenda. The state council also operates a fraternal benefits program that has provided life insurance and college scholarships to Vermont Catholic families for more than a century.

Vermont Fraternal Lodges by the Numbers

Vermont has roughly 15 active Elks lodges with combined membership around 5,000, around 8 Moose lodges with roughly 3,000 members, around 8 Fraternal Order of Eagles aeries with about 2,500 members, and around 50 Knights of Columbus councils with roughly 7,000 members. Granges remain a particular Vermont strength, with several dozen still active. Lions Clubs are widely chartered, with more than 60 in the state, and Rotary and Kiwanis are present in larger towns. Total Vermont fraternal and civic membership is estimated at more than 30,000 once auxiliary and subordinate chapters are included.

Per capita, Vermont's Grange and Knights of Columbus participation rates remain among the highest in New England.

How to Join a Fraternal Lodge in Vermont

Joining a fraternal lodge in Vermont follows the standard order-by-order pattern. The Elks require U.S. citizenship, age twenty-one, belief in God, and sponsorship by a current Elk; an investigation and lodge vote follow. Vermont Elks initiation fees are typically modest, often under one hundred dollars, with annual dues in the same general range.

The Moose admit men twenty-one and older with sponsorship and a similar process. The Eagles welcome men eighteen and older. The Knights of Columbus is open exclusively to practical Catholic men eighteen and older. The Grange welcomes men, women, and youth ages five and up; subordinate Granges have their own local dues structures, generally quite low.

Lions, Rotary, and Kiwanis are coed civic clubs admitted by invitation. Because Vermont communities are small and tightly connected, the easiest path into a lodge is usually through a public event such as a maple sugar supper, an Elks Hoop Shoot, a Knights of Columbus pancake breakfast, or a Grange harvest dinner.

Notable Vermont Fraternal Members in History

Vermont's fraternal roster is more modest in number than those of larger states but features some genuinely notable figures. President Calvin Coolidge, the Plymouth Notch Vermonter who became the thirtieth president of the United States, was a member of multiple civic clubs and supported fraternal causes throughout his career. Senator George Aiken, the long-serving Vermont senator and former governor, was a longtime Grange member who built much of his political career through agricultural fraternal networks. Senator Patrick Leahy participated in numerous Vermont civic events at fraternal halls during his decades in office.

Justin Smith Morrill, of the Morrill Land Grant Acts fame, came out of a Vermont milieu in which the Grange would later become an important institutional voice. Vermont bishops, including Bishop Christopher Coyne and his predecessors, have worked closely with the Knights of Columbus state council on parish and diocesan projects. In the entertainment world, Vermont-raised performers and Olympic athletes have lent their names and presence to fraternal benefit events over the years.

Frequently Asked Questions: Vermont Fraternal Lodges

Sources & Further Reading

• https://www.elks.org/lodges/
• https://www.kofc.org/
• https://www.mooseintl.org/
• https://www.foe.com/
• https://www.nationalgrange.org/
• https://vermontgrange.org/
• https://www.vermonthistory.org/
• https://www.lionsclubs.org/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Grange_of_the_Order_of_Patrons_of_Husbandry
• https://www.vermontelks.org/