In 1950 there were no Masonic Lodges in the Westhaven section of Portsmouth, so, on January 18, 1950, a group of forty-one dedicated Masons met and were called to order by Worshipful S. R. Hollar, past Master of Seaboard Lodge No. 56, who informed them that the meeting had been called for the purpose of establishing another Masonic Lodge in Portsmouth.

The first order of business was to decide on a name for the new Lodge. The group chose Olive Branch as the name for the new Lodge. The next order of business was to elect the officers. The following were elected:

Leroy Earl Hanes                   Worshipful Master                America Lodge No. 330
James August Cates, Sr.       Senior Warden                     Tidal Wave Lodge No. 273
Paul Emil Kube                      Junior Warden                      Tidal Wave Lodge No. 273
Aubrey Gilbert Davis, Sr.      Treasurer                               Churchland Lodge No. 276
Frederick John Carter            Secretary                             Churchland Lodge No. 276
John Russell Carpenter         Senior Deacon                     Lake Drummond Lodge No. 178
Calvin Lee Snyder                 Junior Deacon                      Portsmouth Naval Lodge No. 100.

The decision was made to meet at the Tidal Wave Temple on the First Saturday of each month. The fee for the degrees was set at $100.00, and the dues were set at $9.00. The District Deputy Grand Master, Right Worshipful Clifford V. Schooler, donated the dispensation fee of $25.00.

A meeting was held on January 30, 1950, to inform the brethren that the name of Olive Branch was in use elsewhere in Virginia. The name of Western Branch was selected since the Lodge was located in the Western Branch Magisterial District of old Norfolk County. The stated meeting was changed to the fourth Monday, and the meeting place was changed to the Westhaven Community Hall, and a building committee was established.

The Dispensation was processed and signed on April 13, 1950. The first stated communication was held on April 24, 1950, and five petitions were received. Right Worshipful Rudolph Reynolds Cook, Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, presented the dispensation.

A Charter was granted on February 14, 1951, signed by Portsmouth's own Most Worshipful Rudolph Reynolds Cook, Grand Master of Masons in Virginia and Past Master of Seaboard Lodge No. 56. During its first twenty months the Lodge met eighty-two times and raised thirty-two Brethren.

The building committee purchased land and the members built a temple.

In October 1956, six years after receiving the Dispensation, the first meeting was held in this temple. Nine years later, in 1965, the mortgage note was burned and Most Worshipful Dr. Walter Albert Porter, Grand Master of Masons in Virginia dedicated the building. Other organizations meeting in this building include Miriam Chapter No. 94, Order of the Eastern Star, and Cavalier Court No. 5, Order of the Amaranth.

Currently Western Branch 189 meets at 4610 Caroline Ave, Portsmouth, Virginia 23707 on the second Monday of the month. Dinner is served at 6:30 PM followed by a Stated Communication at 7:30 PM. All Master Masons in good standing and recognized by the Grand Lodge of Virginia are welcome to attend. Not a Mason? Come on out to dinner and ask us about it. 

With the past leadership as a guide and the membership in general as an incentive, this Lodge conceived in unity, born in friendship, and nurtured in fellowship is a Lodge dedicated to the cause of Masonry.  May it ever be upholders of the art and promoters of the Fraternity, that the principles of Freemasonry in this District and the State shall not go unnoticed and unheralded.

​Lodge History

33rd Masonic District ~ Portsmouth, Virginia

2B1 ASK1

Western Branch No. 189 A.F.&A.M.