Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction founded

Background. The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite is a rite within Freemasonry, often viewed as an appendant body where Supreme Councils oversee degrees 4 through 33. In the United States, most Master Masons join after attaining the third degree in their own systems, as blue lodges do not typically work the first three degrees in the Scottish Rite.

Establishment. Emanuel De La Motta, Grand Treasurer of the Southern Jurisdiction, was in New York for health reasons in early 1813. He learned of local Scottish Rite Masons, leading to the organization of a Supreme Council for the Northern Masonic District and Jurisdiction. A charter was written on January 7, 1815, and the council's ratification was dated May 21, 1815 in Masonic reckoning, distinct from the council's reopening on May 21, 1814.

Jurisdiction. The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction oversees bodies in fifteen states, including New York. It is divided into valleys, each with up to four subordinate bodies. The territory gained jurisdiction over fourteen states east of the Mississippi and north of the Mason-Dixon Line in 1827, distinct from the Southern Jurisdiction.