Freemasonry was created and expanded in peninsular Florida throughout the 19th Century, keeping pace with the growing population of the new state. Acquired from Spain by President James Monroe in 1820, the Grand Lodge of Florida was formed in 1830 during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. Its first Grand Master was War of 1812 General John P. Duval.
In 1845, Florida was admitted as a state andin1861joined its neighboring states and seceded in a short-lived break from the United States. Repatriated five years later, Florida spent the remainder of the century in poverty, trying to restore its depleted fortunes.
During the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, Floridacommenced a massive public works project to reclaim the Everglades and create a profitable agricultural system. Numerous towns sprang up along Lake Okeechobee and the contiguous Atlantic coast. James Sundy helped create the town of Linton, named after his hometown in Michigan, and became its first mayor.
In 1908, the Grand Lodge of Florida added Delray Lodge No. 171 in what was then Dade County. The following year Palm Beach County was created, and in 1917, Broward County was added to the south. Over the next decade Linton was formally incorporated as Delray, followed in the 1920s by the addition of Boca Raton.
As the two towns in the south end of Palm Beach County grew, Freemasonry also expanded. Fifty years after the creation of Delray Lodge No. 171, Boca Raton Lodge No. 328 was chartered. Nearly half a century later, the two Lodges were merged into Boca-Delray Lodge No. 171, with its headquarters in Boca Raton.
Ps: All persons named in this composition were Freemasons.