:: New Providence Lodge No. 365
937 - 939 NW 3rd Avenue
Year Built: 1954
Date Designated: March 3, 2009

The New Providence Lodge No. 365, located in the community historically known as Overtown, is living testament to the inhumane practice of segregation in our nation even in organizations that value brotherhood and fraternity, such as the freemasons. The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Florida was begun in 1870 in Jacksonville largely due to the efforts of Brother Charles F. Dailey (b.1820) who was originally from the West Indies.

The lodge is also a monument to the courage, commitment, and perseverance of the New Providence Lodge’s members, during a time when African Americans were still excluded from all white lodges. The Overtown lodge was issued its charter in 1917. Since that time, the organization has practiced its philosophy of brotherly love, relief, and truth, and was a positive force in Overtown’s socially isolated community.