Freemasonry in Delaware was first established under the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania between 1765 and 1786, which chartered lodges at Cantwell’s Bridge, Christiana Ferry, Dover, New Castle, and Duck Creek Cross Roads. After Delaware became independent, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania continued to charter lodges in Lewistown (1794) and Newark (1802). Additionally, the Grand Lodge of Maryland chartered St. John’s of Sussex County in 1792 and Hope Lodge at Laureltown in 1806. On June 6, 1806, a convention in Wilmington organized the Grand Lodge of Delaware, with Gunning Bedford, Jr.—a signer of the U.S. Constitution—as the first Grand Master. The first four lodges were numbered as Washington № 1 (Wilmington), St. John’s № 2 (New Castle), Hiram № 3 (Newark), and Hope № 4 (Laurel)