Ceremonies of Laying the Corner Stone of the Fire Monument, at Central Park, Chicago ... 1872.  [Program]

“By art the Corner’s laid; Father, the Craft Thine aid—Thy Blessing crave. ... Long let the City stand, From harm, it save.”

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Unrecorded 1872 Program for the dedication of the cornerstone of Chicago’s monument commemorating its deliverance from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The exercises were preparative to the erection of a gothic tower monument, designed by William Le Baron Jenney, in the city’s Central Park, known today as Garfield Park.

The cornerstone dedication ceremonies followed the Freemasonic traditions and were conducted by the Knights Templar of the Grand Lodge of Illinois. The program records the order of procession and the names of all the Freemasons who had official roles.

An ode, written specifically for the occasion, is included in the program. Sung to the tune of the air “America,” its poetical verses are replete with Freemasonic references: “The Corner Stone is laid,  /  The Corner, level made,  /  Plumb let it stand.  /  Proud may the column rise /  To greet the azure skies;  /  Approve our work, Allwise,  /  And bless this land.”

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