About Thomas A. Simms Jr. Lodge No. 170

Early in 1954, Captain Thomas A. Simms, Jr., a Mason, arrived at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Captain Simms saw a need for a lodge at Fort Campbell and petitioned to the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge (MWPHGL) of Kentucky.

A lodge under dispensation was granted on December 12, 1954. Colonel Charles E. Young Lodge #170 was established with Brother Simms appointed as the first Worshipful Master.

A boating accident on March 6, 1955 on Kentucky Lake near Paris, Tennessee took the life of WM Simms. In memorial of his Masonic work, the lodge members voted to rename the lodge Thomas A. Simms, Jr. Lodge No. 170. On August 4, 1955, the lodge received its Charter from the MWPHGL of Kentucky.

After the death of WM Thomas A. Simms, Jr., Ernest C. Bradley became the first elected Master of Thomas A. Simms, Jr. Lodge No. 170. The Lodge operated on Fort Campbell until the late 1960s.

After leaving Fort Campbell, the Craft initially met at Jethro Lodge No. 45 in Pembroke, Kentucky. Meanwhile, then Past Master Robert B. Kendall, Jr. led an effort to secure land in Oak Grove, Kentucky to establish its new home.

On March 13, 1974, the members of Thomas A. Simms, Jr. Lodge held their first meeting in their new home in Oak Grove, Kentucky. Initially, they met on the first floor of Kendall Hall because the lodge was only one level.