Joshua Norton Posthumously Reinstated as a Mason After 166 Years
A Homecoming Jump-Started by
The Emperor Norton Trust
Trust Gifts Plaque to Museum of San Francisco
THE PUBLISHED Proceedings of the M. W. Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of California at the Sixth Annual Communication (1855) is the primary official record of all activities, finances, and officers of the Grand Lodge of California and its constituent Lodges during the year-long period from the publication of the previous Proceedings in May 1854 until the publication of the 1855 edition in May 1855.
The 1855 volume includes the first listing for Joshua Norton, the future Emperor Norton, as a member of Occidental Lodge No. 22 of Free and Accepted Masons. Elsewhere in the annals of California Masonry, it is recorded that Joshua was inducted into Occidental Lodge on 21 August 1854.
First listing for Joshua Norton as a member of Occidental Lodge No. 22 (fourth column), Proceedings of the M. W. Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of California at the Sixth Annual Communication, 1855, p. 185. Collection of the San Francisco Public Library. Source: Internet Archive
Four years later, the Proceedings published in May 1859 noted that Joshua Norton had been “Suspended for Non-Payment of Dues” from Occidental Lodge No. 22 of F. & A.M.
Listing of Joshua Norton as “Suspended for Non-Payment of Dues” from Occidental Lodge No. 22, Proceedings of the M. W. Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of California at the Tenth Annual Communication, 1859, p. 195. Collection of the San Francisco Public Library. Source: Internet Archive
For much more on this part of the story, see our June 2021 article here.
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SOMETIME in the early to mid twentieth century, Occidental Lodge No. 22 sought to merge with the San Francisco-based California Lodge No. 1 of F. & A.M. — the oldest Masonic lodge in California — after which Occidental 22 ceased to exist as a separate lodge.
Fast forward to last year.
2024 was the 175th anniversary of Joshua Norton’s arrival in San Francisco in late 1849. Believing that it also was the 175th anniversary of California Lodge No. 1…
In June 2024, I wrote on behalf of The Emperor Norton Trust to Jonathan Chan, then the Worshipful Master (president) of California 1, to suggest that California 1 explore the possibility of using the “symbolic convergence” of 175th anniversaries as an opportunity to posthumously reinstate Joshua Norton as a Mason and forgive his unpaid dues.
Alas, I was mistaken about the date of California 1’s founding. The Lodge was founded in 1848 — not 1850 — meaning that it already had celebrated its 175th in 2023. For this and other scheduling and logistical reasons, my suggestion that the Lodge consider reinstating Joshua did not move forward in 2024.
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NEARLY a year later, this past May, I received an invitation from Keaton Nguyen, junior warden of a new San Francisco Masonic lodge — Seven Hills Lodge No. 881, founded in 2022 — to attend and speak at its second Emperor Norton Night dinner, in August.
The legacy of Seven Hills is worth noting. In 1860, certain members of Occidental (“west”) lodge who were motivated by a strong abolitionist, anti-slavery spirit, started the new Oriental (“east”) lodge. (This is the lodge that the great Unitarian orator and social reformer Thomas Starr King joined in 1861 shortly after arriving in San Francisco in 1860.) Later, Oriental Lodge No. 144 became Phoenix Lodge No. 144 — and it was members of Phoenix 144 who founded Seven Hills.
As the dinner theme suggests, Seven Hills 881 has a particular affinity for the Emperor Norton.
In the course of responding to Keaton’s invitation, I mentioned my earlier proposal that California 1 consider posthumously reinstating Joshua. Keaton quickly took this up with John Bermudez, the current Worshipful Master of California 1.
From here, things moved very quickly indeed.
On 3 June 2025 — after 166 years — California Lodge No. 1 of F. & A.M. reinstated Joshua Norton as a Mason and extended amnesty for all unpaid dues.
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WITH THIS, the Emperor Norton Night dinner of Seven Hills Lodge had a new elevated focus: celebration of the reinstatement of Joshua Norton.
The celebration took place on 28 August 2025 in the elegantly restored new rooms of Seven Hills 881, located inside the Masonic Auditorium building at California and Taylor Streets, San Francisco.
I was honored to attend and speak on behalf of The Emperor Norton Trust.
The hospitality of the brothers — impeccable from start to finish — is a testament to the generosity of my hosts: Marcelo Pontin, Worshipful Master of Seven Hills Lodge No. 881; John Bermudez; and Keaton Nguyen.
At the second annual Emperor Norton Night dinner hosted by Seven Hills Lodge No. 881 of F. & A.M. in San Francisco on 28 August 2025 — celebrating California Lodge No. 1’s posthumous reinstatement of Joshua Norton as a Mason after 166 years. Left to right: John Lumea, founder of The Emperor Norton Trust; Keaton Nguyen, junior warden of Seven Hills 881; Marcelo Pontin, Worshipful Master of Seven Hills 881; and John Bermudez, Worshipful Master of California 1.
Nothing better captures the spirit of the evening than the following prayer offered before dinner by Michael Wilson of Seven Hills:
Great Architect of the Universe, we give thanks for the fellowship we share tonight, for the hands that prepared this meal, and for the bonds of Brotherly Love that make us one family.
Tonight, let us remember those modern men — brothers, friends, and beloved companions — who have stepped from labor to refreshment. Their chairs may be empty, but their light endures in our hearts, guiding us toward Fidelity, Charity, and Truth.
We also call to mind notable souls who have flavored our history — among them Joshua Abraham Norton, Emperor Norton I, whose uncommon courage and civic imagination reminded a weary city that dignity, humor, and hope can bind a community together. May his example inspire us to look after the forgotten, to dream beyond the ordinary, and to build bridges — of stone and of spirit — wherever divisions appear.
Grant that our hearts remain steadfast to the sacred trust of friendship and brotherhood. Keep us and out loved ones in safety, and may Peace and Harmony always prevail.
Amen.
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IN THE COURSE of the evening, the brothers of California 1 and Seven Hills 881 presented to The Emperor Norton Trust the following commemorative plaque, which I was honored to receive on behalf of the Trust:
At a celebratory Emperor Norton Night dinner in San Francisco on 28 August 2025, California Lodge No. 1 and Seven Hills Lodge No. 881 of Free and Accepted Masons presented to Emperor Norton Trust founder John Lumea this plaque commemorating California 1’s posthumous reinstatement of Joshua Norton as a Mason.
As The Emperor Norton Trust has no bricks-and-mortar exhibit or archive space, it was clear to us that, if I brought the plaque commemorating Joshua's reinstatement as a Mason back to Boston, it would simply hang in my living room.
The larger opportunity, we thought, was to find a way to preserve the plaque as a public historical resource for research and storytelling — both about Joshua and about the Masons.
So, last Friday, on behalf of the Trust, I gifted the plaque to San Francisco Historical Society (SFHS) — which now is rebranding as the Museum of San Francisco.
This took place at a meeting with Todd Mayberry and Lana Costantini — executive director and deputy director, respectively, of the Museum — where I was joined by Richard Everett, an Advisor to the Trust and the former longtime (now retired) Senior Curator of Exhibits at the San Francisco Maritime Museum, at Aquatic Park.
On 29 August 2025 — the day after receiving from California Lodge No. 1 and Seven Hills Lodge No. 881 of Free and Accepted Masons a plaque commemorating California 1’s posthumous reinstatement of Joshua Norton as a Mason — Emperor Norton Trust founder John Lumea gifted the plaque to the Museum of San Francisco. At the Museum (l to r): Advisor to the Trust Richard Everett; Museum deputy director Lana Costantini; John Lumea; Museum executive director Todd Mayberry.
The Museum of San Francisco is located at 608 Commercial Street. Just three doors down is 650–654 Commercial, the 1910 building that replaced — and that is on the same site as — the building (lost in 1906) that housed the Eureka Lodgings, where Emperor Norton lived from c.1864–65 until his death in 1880.
The Museum has been deeply committed to telling the Norton story and has been leaning in to the Emperor's symbolic potential for a museum located in the block where he lived.
For example...
Together with The Emperor Norton Trust and other groups, SFHS was involved in planning and producing the event dedicating "Emperor Norton Place" as the City's honorary name for the 600 block of Commercial in 2023.
At the Museum itself, there is — fronting Commercial Street — a life-sized "window cling" of a photograph of the Emperor. The Museum plans to put a similar decal of the Emp on one of its elevator doors. There is a floor-to-ceiling foam board-mounted image of a cabinet card of the Emperor downstairs. And the Museum plans to include the Emperor Norton story as part of the curriculum in its City Lab for kids, now in development.
The plaque commemorating Joshua Norton’s reinstatement as a Mason will be added to the Museum of San Francisco's permanent collection — and the Museum will look for ways to include the plaque in its interpretive program.
Once the plaque is formally accessioned, it will be available for inspection to those researching either the Masons or Emperor Norton.
The Emperor Norton Trust looks forward to continued collaboration with institutions — like the Masons and the Museum of San Francisco — who understand the significance of the life and legacy of Emperor Norton to the history and culture of San Francisco, the Bay Area, California, the United States, and beyond.