Photographs of African American Religious and Masonic Life in Pasadena, California: Finding Aid photCL 696
Nichole L Manlove
The Huntington Library
March 2023
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Photographs of African American religious and masonic life in Pasadena,
California
Identifier/Call Number: photCL 696
Physical Description:
0.21 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): approximately 1954-1970
Abstract: A collection of materials,
predominantly 8 x 10 inch black-and-white photographs of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church
(Pasadena, California) members and events. Also included are images of congregants
associated with the Silver Leaf Chapter No. 7 Order of the Eastern Star (O.E.S.) and the
King Solomon No. 10 Masonic Lodge.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
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[Identification of item]. Photographs of African American religious and masonic life in
Pasadena, California, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Caroliniana Rare Books, January 2023.
Bethel Missionary Baptist Church was founded in February 1959 under the leadership of
Reverend Freeman S. Stevens and was formally recognized as a constituted Baptist Church the
following June. The church moved to its new location at 1972 North Fair Oaks Avenue in
Pasadena, California on September 8, 1963. Certain congregants were also members of the King
Solomon Masonic Lodge No. 10 (currently the South Pasadena Masonic Lodge) and the Silver
Leaf Chapter No. 7 of the Order of the Eastern Star (O.E.S.), an appendant body of the
Freemasons.
The collection spans approximately 1954 through 1970 and includes one program from the
September 8, 1963 Bethel Baptist Church Ground Breaking Service and 18 black-and-white
photographs (8 x 10 inches) of Bethel, Freemason, and Order of the Eastern Star members and
events. This includes images of the Bethel members and presumably Reverend Freeman S.
Stevens attending the church's Ground Breaking Service, images of the Bethel building
located at 1972 North Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena, California, and the 1970 National
Baptist Convention in Shreveport, Louisiana. Other photographs depict members of Bethel's
9:00 O' Clock Men's Club, a large gathering of several Masonic organizations outside of a
Masonic Grand Lodge in California, the men and women of the Silver Leaf Chapter No. 7 Order
of the Eastern Star, two portraits of Chapter No. 7 treasurer Louise T. Butler at the King
Solomon Lodge No. 10, and one photograph of the July 15, 1964 Grand Chapter Order of the
Eastern Star Grand Session at the El Cortez Hotel Banquet Room in San Diego, California.
Also within the collection is one black and white image of a well-dressed African American
man posing on a rooftop patio, the verso reads "Mr. Kincaid". The majority of images include
descriptive information on the verso.
Processed at the time of accessioning by Nichole Manlove in March 2023.
Arranged by format.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
African American
Baptists.
African American
churches.
African
Americans--Religion--History--20th century.
Freemasons -- California.
Louisiana --
Description and travel.
Order of the Eastern
Star.
Pasadena (Calif.)
Photographs.
Programs.
San Diego (Calif.)
Box 1, Folder 1
Bethel Baptist Church Ground Breaking Service 1963 September 8
Box 1, Folder 1
Photographs approximately 1954-1970