Kempsville Lodge No. 196
4869 Princess Anne Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23462
The History of the 56th Masonic District
The Grand Lodge reports that Masonic District 56 was established in 1912, with 2 lodges being assigned to it. 1912 is the year Virginia Beach Lodge No. 274 was chartered. Another historical record found records that in 1933, Princess Anne Lodge No. 25 and Virginia Beach Lodge No. 274 were assigned to District 56, being the only 2 lodges in the District.
Other lodges in the now Norfolk and Chesapeake areas were assigned to Masonic District 35. Lodges in the Portsmouth area were assigned to District 34.
Between 1933 and 1955, there was an apparent realignment of Districts by the Grand Lodge and those lodges within Norfolk, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. The 36th District was established to include the now Chesapeake area lodges; Norfolk lodges were assigned as District 35. In 1955 upon being Chartered, Kempsville Lodge No. 196 was apparently placed into the 56th Masonic District with Princess Anne No. 25 & Virginia Beach No. 274.
The annual rotation for selection of District Deputy Grand Masters at the time (1950’s/1960’s), rotated and came from the Districts in the Chesapeake and Virginia Beach areas. The District Deputy Grand Master held authority over this area and the lodges within.
A record found in the minutes of Kempsville Lodge reveals that in 1971, the Grand Lodge realigned the lodges in Districts 36 and 56. Grand Lodge split District 36 into 2 Districts (apparently retiring District 56 at the time). Those lodges in Virginia Beach were assigned to District 36-A, and Chesapeake lodges were assigned to District 36-B.
Another record in the minutes of Kempsville Lodge reveals that in 1975, the Grand Lodge reactivated District 56 for the 6 Lodges in Virginia Beach. Chesapeake lodges then became District 36. Since 1975, the 6 lodges within the 56th District have chosen their District Deputy Grand Masters on a rotation, “round-robin” basis.
A question arose for years 1993/94, when Right Worshipful Charles Wayne Doolin served a 2-year term (1993 & 1994). This was due to the untimely death of Most Worshipful Werner Herman Morlock while serving as Grand Master. Most Worshipful Thomas Frederick May, Deputy Grand Master at the time, completed Most Worshipful Morlock’s term. Most Worshipful May served as Grand Master the following year. District Deputy Grand Masters throughout the state served in office for both Grand Masters Morlock and May.
District Deputy Grand Master Historical List beginning in 1954, when Kempsville Lodge No. 196 (Under Dispensation) began work
| Year | Lodge | District Deputy Grand Master | Note |
| 1871 | Princess Anne 25 Chartered | ||
| 1912 | Virginia Beach 274 Lodge Chartered | ||
| 1955 | Kempsville 196 Chartered | ||
| 1954 | Great Bridge Lodge No. 257 | J. P. Todd | |
| 1955 | South Norfolk Lodge No. 339 | John Luther Trafton | |
| 1956 | Princess Anne Lodge No. 25 | Marshall Aubrey Williams | |
| 1957 | Virginia Beach Lodge No. 274 | Harry W. Peck | |
| 1958 | Great Bridge Lodge No. 257 | J. A. Creef | |
| 1959 | South Norfolk Lodge No. 339 | Roy L. Birdzell | |
| 1960 | Kempsville Lodge No. 196 | William Hollowell Pierce* | |
| 1961 | Princess Anne Lodge No. 25 | Benjamin L. Ferrell | |
| 1962 | Virginia Beach Lodge No. 274 | Gilbert Jones Taylor | Lynnhaven Lodge No. 220 & Bayside Lodge No. 218 Chartered |
| 1963 | Great Bridge Lodge No. 257 | Steve S. Squires | |
| 1964 | South Norfolk Lodge No. 339 | James W. Batten | |
| 1965 | Kempsville Lodge No. 196 | George Raymond Ferrell* | |
| 1966 | Lynnhaven Lodge No. 220 | William Albert Brant | |
| 1967 | Bayside Lodge No. 218 | James H. Parkerson, Jr.* | |
| 1968 | Princess Anne Lodge No. 25 | Homer Leon Tew | Willis V. Fentress Lodge No. 296 Chartered |
| 1969 | Virginia Beach Lodge No. 274 | Arthur B. James | |
| 1970 | Doric Lodge No. 44 | Robert William Reardon | |
| 1971 | Berkley Lodge No. 167 | Sylvester Boothe | Virginia Beach lodges became District 36-A |
| 1972 | Kempsville Lodge No. 196 | Earl Lewis Polhamus, Jr.* | |
| 1973 | Lynnhaven Lodge No. 220 | John Fox | |
| 1974 | Bayside Lodge No. 218 | Alvin D. Davidson | |
| 1975 | Willis V. Fentress Lodge No. 296 | Austin L. Tuck | District 56 Re-established for Virginia Beach lodges |
| 1976 | Princess Anne Lodge No. 25 | Leland Matthew Hood | |
| 1977 | Virginia Beach Lodge No. 274 | Ross Phelps Wible | |
| 1978 | Kempsville Lodge No. 196 | Dwight Paul Jones* | |
| 1979 | Lynnhaven Lodge No. 220 | Herbert Drury Smith* | |
| 1980 | Bayside Lodge No. 218 | Thomas Baxter Boyce* | |
| 1981 | Willis V. Fentress Lodge No. 296 | Donald Eugene Clark, Sr. | |
| 1982 | Princess Anne Lodge No. 25 | Jesse Clarence Morris | |
| 1983 | Virginia Beach Lodge No. 274 | Donald Patterson Dollens | |
| 1984 | Kempsville Lodge No. 196 | George Joseph Wallace* | |
| 1985 | Lynnhaven Lodge No. 220 | James Calvin Caton | |
| 1986 | Bayside Lodge No. 218 | Herbert Wade Curren, Jr. | |
| 1987 | Kempsville Lodge No. 196 | Lewis Raymond Snyder* | |
| 1988 | Princess Anne Lodge No. 25 | Wayne Sawyer Flora | |
| 1989 | Virginia Beach Lodge No. 274 | William Rex Gurley | |
| 1990 | Kempsville Lodge No. 196 | Richard Alfred Davis, Jr.* | |
| 1991 | Lynnhaven Lodge No. 220 | George W. Ganter | |
| 1992 | Bayside Lodge No. 218 | Marvin Roland Beecham* | |
| 1993/94 | Willis V. Fentress Lodge No. 296 | Charles Wayne Doolin | |
| 1995 | Princess Anne Lodge No. 25 | James Edward Colby | |
| 1996 | Virginia Beach Lodge No. 274 | Reginald Lewis Kilgore* | |
| 1997 | Kempsville Lodge No. 196 | Vernon B. Benjaminson* | |
| 1998 | Lynnhaven Lodge No. 220 | George Frederick Nueunz* | |
| 1999 | Bayside Lodge No. 218 | Ronald P. Watkins* | |
| 2000 | Willis V. Fentress Lodge No. 296 | John D. Bartleson, Jr.* | |
| 2001 | Princess Anne Lodge No. 25 | Clayton Wesley Babb* | |
| 2002 | Virginia Beach Lodge No. 274 | Thomas Edwin Reese | |
| 2003 | Kempsville Lodge No. 196 | Thomas McGowan | |
| 2004 | Lynnhaven Lodge No. 220 | Herbert Stanley Hogge* | |
| 2005 | Bayside Lodge No. 218 | Joseph Russo, Jr. | |
| 2006 | Willis V. Fentress Lodge No. 296 | Victor Ellis Baker | |
| 2007 | Princess Anne Lodge No. 25 | Robert Leroy Harrison* | |
| 2008 | Virginia Beach Lodge No. 274 | Chad Joseph White | |
| 2009 | Kempsville Lodge No. 196 | Emmett Moseley Pate, Jr. | |
| 2010 | Lynnhaven Lodge No. 220 | Dennis Eugene Edwards | |
| 2011 | Bayside Lodge No. 218 | Roger Cort | |
| 2012 | Willis V. Fentress Lodge No. 296 | Alfedo Cruz Lintag | |
| 2013 | Kempsville Lodge No. 196 | Donald Edward Meyer | Rotation changed to accommodate Princess Anne Lodge No. 25 having District Deputy Grand Master while Most Worshipful Flora served as Grand Master in 2014. |
| 2014 | Princess Anne Lodge No. 25 | Lankford D. Malbone | |
| 2015 | Virginia Beach Lodge No. 274 | Frank L. Wright, Jr. | |
| 2016 | Lynnhaven Lodge No. 220 | Edward Lawrence Meise, Jr. | |
| 2017 | Bayside Lodge No. 218 | Steve A. Ridgeway | |
| 2018 | Willis V. Fentress Lodge No. 296 | Michael Dennis Scott | |
| 2019 | Princess Anne Lodge No. 25 | Matthew Morse Hood | Virginia Beach Lodge No. 274 & Princess Anne Lodge No. 25 Consolidate |
| 2020 | Princess Anne Lodge No. 25 | David Edward Crook (DDGM Elect) | Nomination made by Virginia Beach Lodge No. 274 prior to consolidation |
| 2021 | Kempsville Lodge No. 196 | Robert Wesley Stanek (DDGM Elect) | |
| 2022 | Lynnhaven Lodge No. 220 to have nomination - pending | ||
| *Passed to the Celestial Lodge above |
Fraternally,
Worshipful Robert Wesley Stanek, (1996)