What was the very first Masonic Lodge in the United States?

Determining the earliest Masonic lodge in the United States depends on whether priority is given to informal lodges assembled by old prescriptive right or to those formally constituted under a warrant.

Unwarranted "occasional lodges" met in the American colonies at undetermined dates prior to any official authorization 1. A 1656 record indicates Masons meeting in Newport, Rhode Island 2. In Pennsylvania, brethren assembled by prescriptive right at the Tun Tavern in Philadelphia in 1730 or earlier, prior to acquiring a charter 3. Benjamin Franklin referenced several lodges operating in the province in December 1730 23, and records such as "Liber B" point to a lodge active in Philadelphia by June 1731 3.

The first regularly constituted lodge acting under an official warrant granted by the Grand Lodge of England was the "First Lodge in Boston," established on July 30, 1733, under Provincial Grand Master Henry Price 134. As a result, historical priority remains a subject of distinct claims: Pennsylvania points to its lodge operating by prescriptive usage around 1730, whereas Massachusetts cites the first duly chartered lodge constituted in 1733 13.