Richard B. Baldwin, 33°
5400 Bromyard Court, Burke, Virginia 22015-1915

In 1926, honoring the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, members of the Grand Council of Cryptic Masons of the District of Columbia made what they termed a "Deposit" reminiscent of Solomon's deposit beneath the Temple, which is memorialized in the Degree work of the Cryptic Rite. The deposit, really a time capsule, was intended for opening in the year 2000.

Ill\ Richard B. Baldwin, 33°, Most Illustrious Grand Master of Cryptic Masons in the District of Columbia, presents an original letter from Grand Commander John H. Cowles, 33°, to Grand Commander Kleinknecht. Dated October 15, 1926, the letter (click here for image) is addressed to the sitting Grand Commander in 2000.

The deposit was initially in the Brightwood Masonic Temple in northwest Washington, D.C., where several Lodges, Rites, and other Masonic groups conducted their meetings. This building was sold, and the deposit eventually ended up beneath the floor in the East of William R. Singleton-Hope-Lebanon Lodge No. 7 on Wisconsin Ave., NW.

The Lodge's members knew of the deposit's existence as a Committee reported on its whereabouts each year at the Grand Annual Council Meeting. Little thought was given to what was really in it, and, in the history of Freemasonry in the Federal City, no mention is made of what was deposited.

On February 13, 2002, in the office of the Chief Justice, three distinguished Scottish Rite Masons presented a time-capsule letter, written in 1926, from Brother and Chief Justice Howard Taft to the present Chief Justice, the Honorable William H. Rehnquist. Pictured above(l. to r.) are: Ill\ Urban T. Peters, 33°, Grand Recorder, Grand Council of Cryptic Masons, D.C.; Ill\ Richard B. Baldwin, 33°, Grand Master of Cryptic Masons, D.C.; Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist; and Bro\ Aires Domingues, 32°, Deputy Grand Master of Cryptic Masons, D.C. The text of the hand-written note reads: "To the Chief Justice, The United States, January 1st A.D. 2000 My dear Sir, I sincerely hope that when this letter is presented to you the Constitution will still be maintaining the Ship of State on an even keel, and securing the blessings of individual liberty to all the people of the United States under a government of law and order. Respectfully yours, William Taft"

Some minor difficulties ensued in the year 2000, when the deposit was to be opened, and it was left undisturbed. However, on November 26, 2001, several Brethren of Lodge No. 7 cut the floor covering in the East, pulled out the deposit, contained in a metal box measuring approximately 8" x 5" x 3", and opened it with a key carefully taped to the top.

Inside was a package sealed in lead! Lacking the proper tools to open it, the Brethren used pliers and a screwdriver to reveal what was inside. They found a package wrapped in what appeared to be something like oilcloth, and inside it were perhaps 40 letters from the Masonic leaders of 1926 addressed to their successors in the year 2000. One, for example, is addressed to "My Successor as yet Unborn"!

Of particular interest was a small note-size envelope addressed in pen to the Chief Justice of the United States in AD 2000. (See photo and caption below.) Written in high-minded language looking to the future from 1926, it was signed by the then Chief Justice, Brother William Howard Taft!

Taft was made a Mason "At Sight" in Ohio and evidently took great interest in the Order. He is known to have traveled up and down the East coast visiting Lodges and Grand Lodges. He was made an Honorary Member in many of them including Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 in Virginia and Naval Lodge No. 4 in the District of Columbia.

One cannot help but be impressed with the tone of these letters, as evident in the letter from Grand Commander Cowles as reprinted on the facing page. One wonders if our contemporaries today could look as well to the far future as these distinguished Freemasons did in 1926. Copies of all the letters contained in the deposit were made, and appropriate Masonic leaders in the District of Columbia are delivering them to the addressees. The presentations have been quite moving and impressive.

Inspired by this deposit, the D.C. Brethren are planning to create a similar deposit to be opened on the 300th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2076 or a similarly significant date.