Orange Lodge. Royal Scarlet Chapter of West Peterborough

In 1795, the Protestant Orange Order was formed at Loughgall, County Armagh, Ireland, to commemorate the victory of William of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. The immediate aim of the Orange Order was to protect the local Protestant community from Catholic aggression, but the organization quickly assumed the larger role of defending the Protestant Ascendency in the Government of Ireland. Within the next five years, Orange Lodges had sprung up across the Protestant sectors of Ireland and in the industrial centres of England. As well, the movement had spread across the Atlantic with the emigration of Irish settlers. The first Grand Lodge of British North America was founded in Brockville, Upper Canada, January 1, 1830, by Ogle R. Gowan. By 1835, there were 154 Orange Lodges in British North America. Orangeism had arrived in Upper Canada at the beginning of the 19th century, but the history of the Orange Order is unclear until 1830. For many pioneer men, the Orange Lodge was more of a social organization than a religious organization. It was not necessary, as it was in Ireland, for the lodge to act in a protective manner against the aggression of Catholics. The Orange Lodge provided its members with a sense of fraternity, loyalty, conviviality, identity, and continuity. This was important to the early pioneers who had settled in the region, as feelings of isolation and dislocation were common. Orangemen had pass words and secret signs of recognition for each other. Also, an Orangeman could advance through several levels based on his stature and competence within the organization: the Orange, the Blue, the Royal Arch Purple, the Scarlet, and the Black Knight. Orange Lodges were quickly established in the Peterborough region between 1830 and 1833 due to the settlement of large numbers of Irish Protestant emigrants. Later, the British and Scottish settlers in the region would join the lodge. Orangeism remained strong in Ontario over the following 160 years, and in the City of Peterborough, an Orange Hall still exists. (Taken from The Sash Canada Wore by Cecil J. Houston and William J. Smyth. University of Toronto Press, 1980.)