Valley Of Knoxville
History
Letters Temporary were issued to the Valley of
Knoxville on August 10, 1945 by Charles Nelson, 33° S.G.I.G. in
Tennessee. Charters already existed in Memphis for West Tennessee,
and in Nashville, for Middle Tennessee. Knoxville was to serve the
Eastern part of the State, consisting of thirty counties at that
time. In 1969, the Valley was divided to help form the Valley of
Chattanooga.
Ill. John H. Cowles, 33° Sovereign Grand Commander performed the inaugural ceremonies in early December of that year by personally delivering and reading the Charters, Constituting the Bodies, and installing the officers. The following officers were installed:
John C. Crawford, Jr., 32° KCCH, Venerable Master; Sylvan D. Shamblin, 32° KCCH, Wise Master; Lennis I. Reed, 32°, Commander; Oscar C. Schwargenberg, 32° KCCH, Master of Kadosh; Albert C. Kelley, 33° was installed as Secretary and Jerry T. Henderson, 32° was installed as Treasurer.
The first Reunion was conducted December 15 and 16, 1945, with a class of 286 completing the 32°. Membership at the close of this first year was 874 including those affiliating from other Valleys. Membership at the close of 1996 was 8,923, the third largest in the Southern Jurisdiction, after Dallas and Houston in Texas. The Valley of Knoxville still has the third highest membership in the Southern Jurisdiction.
Having experienced excellent enthusiasm and membership growth for eight years, a building site was purchased in 1953 adjacent to the University of Tennessee campus. Construction on the Temple began in January 1955 and the structure was sufficiently completed in October 1955. In that month we held our first in the new temple and just under 500 candidates were in the Dedication Class. We completed the year with 4,463 members.
For the purpose of administering community services, and activities for our membership, our Valley is divided into six districts with a chairman for each district. Each district is divided by county with an organized club in each county. Our operating area consists of 24 counties from Monroe county northward to Sullivan and Johnson counties.
Ill. John H. Cowles, 33° Sovereign Grand Commander performed the inaugural ceremonies in early December of that year by personally delivering and reading the Charters, Constituting the Bodies, and installing the officers. The following officers were installed:
John C. Crawford, Jr., 32° KCCH, Venerable Master; Sylvan D. Shamblin, 32° KCCH, Wise Master; Lennis I. Reed, 32°, Commander; Oscar C. Schwargenberg, 32° KCCH, Master of Kadosh; Albert C. Kelley, 33° was installed as Secretary and Jerry T. Henderson, 32° was installed as Treasurer.
The first Reunion was conducted December 15 and 16, 1945, with a class of 286 completing the 32°. Membership at the close of this first year was 874 including those affiliating from other Valleys. Membership at the close of 1996 was 8,923, the third largest in the Southern Jurisdiction, after Dallas and Houston in Texas. The Valley of Knoxville still has the third highest membership in the Southern Jurisdiction.
Having experienced excellent enthusiasm and membership growth for eight years, a building site was purchased in 1953 adjacent to the University of Tennessee campus. Construction on the Temple began in January 1955 and the structure was sufficiently completed in October 1955. In that month we held our first in the new temple and just under 500 candidates were in the Dedication Class. We completed the year with 4,463 members.
For the purpose of administering community services, and activities for our membership, our Valley is divided into six districts with a chairman for each district. Each district is divided by county with an organized club in each county. Our operating area consists of 24 counties from Monroe county northward to Sullivan and Johnson counties.
Knoxville Scottish Rite
612 16th Street
Knoxville, TN 37916
Office: (865) 524-3459
Fax: (865) 522-9449