Making Saratoga’s good men, Better
since 1892!
Welcome to Saratoga Lodge No. 14 A.F. & A.M. the premiere Masonic Lodge in the North Platte River Valley that continues to observe regular and traditional masonic practices as handed down by members of the Fraternity dating back to the first Grand Lodge formed in 1717. Saratoga Freemasons can be found actively engaged and involved in the communities that make up the North Platte River Valley as well as throughout the State of Wyoming. Men travel in from across the State just to participate in our lodge’s customs; a few fly in from across our Nation.
What Makes Saratoga Freemasonry So Different?
In large part it is the community from which our members are drawn. It’s our intertwined history story; and it has the makings of blockbuster waiting to be written. The North Platte River Valley community has for centuries been the destination of well-meaning and honest people looking for a way of life and release from it’s stress. The fishing and hunting are unparalleled. Saratoga is known nationwide for it’s trout fishing, the town got it’s slogan “Where the fish jump into main street” over a century ago1. We would be remiss if we did not mention all of our town’s rich history, which has always been centered around the hot springs; a feature which made the community to be known as “Warm Springs” until it was renamed as “Saratoga” in 1884 just six year prior to State of Wyoming being admitted as the 44th State of the United States. The town was established in 1894, but the community was present nearly a century before that.
For some time now, it is here in our history that most believed that our town first became intertwined with Freemasonry; but as history is still revealing our community and Freemasonry were in “Warm Springs” long before the United States arrived here. This journey back into history will lead us through time, most of it forgotten, and the details are sparse, save for a few names; which align with old Masonic records of the Republic of Texas. Saratoga, then “Warm Springs” was the northern most outpost of that free State’s existence; which models well with the a “Texan mentality” still prevalent among the locals of the Valley. What we do know from the names involved is that Freemasonry and Saratoga are from both it’s starts in history first in the Republic of Texas and second as part of the State of Wyoming, are intricately intertwined. Read our series as we travel through history in search of the elusive, perhaps even non-existent, “Warm Springs Lodge No. 0.”