About
The Unity Lodge was established in January of 2026. It was the merger of the lodges of Belmont, Gastonia, Lowell, and South Fork lodge of Cramerton.
Unity Lodge is under the jurisdiction of the
Grand Lodge of North Carolina A.F. & A.M.
On January 3, 2026, Gaston County Freemasonry entered a historic new chapter when four over-century-old lodges officially combined to form Unity Lodge No. 462, creating the largest Masonic lodge in North Carolina with approximately 450 members.
The Founding Legacies
- Belmont Lodge No. 627 (Est. 1916): Housed on Main Street inside the historic 1906 Hotel Belmont building, this lodge served as a prominent fraternal anchor in downtown Belmont for 110 years before heavily backing the consolidation efforts.
- Gastonia Lodge No. 369 (Est. 1879): Originally founded as Air Line Lodge along the booming railroad line, it took the Gastonia name in 1901 and operated out of its landmark downtown Classical Revival-style temple at 214 S. South Street for over a century.
- Lowell Lodge No. 590 (Est. 1911): Tied tightly to eastern Gaston County's textile era, it maintained an unbroken 115-year presence on North Main Street in Lowell and hosted the final merger meetings.
- South Fork Lodge No. 462 (Est. 1894): Born in McAdenville, it spent 84 historic years operating in downtown Cramerton along the South Fork River before temporarily sharing space with Belmont Lodge.
The 2026 Consolidation
The four lodges were Consolidation on December 31, 2025. On January 3, 2026, Grand Master Steve Marion Norris officially delivered the new unified charter
to honor its roots, the new organization took the name Unity Lodge but adopted South Fork's original number (No. 462) to preserve its 132-year legacy.
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