On 19 March 1890, Sir Knight H. V. Hudson was granted a dispensation to open a regular Commandery at Luray in Page County by Grand Commander, Sir Knight Isaac S. Tower. On April 12, 1890, the first officers were elected and worked under dispensation until the Commandery was regularly constituted by the Deputy Grand Commander, Sir Knight J. L. Avis under the orders of Right Eminent Grand Commander Isaac Stoddard Tower. The following year Luray Commandery paraded in Luray in full dress uniform prior to a masonic picnic and address.

Very few records exist for Luray Commandery from its inception to 1912. In the only existing membership record, which was retired in 2012, Sir Knight H. V. Hudson is shown as being elected the very first Eminent Commander of Luray Commandery in 1890. He served in that position for two years. In 1892, Sir Knight E. J. Armstrong, Jr., was elected Commander. Sir Knight Armstrong served in the Confederate Army as a 1st lieutenant in the 31st Virginia Volunteers, Company A. He was wounded on 30 May 1864. After the war, he attended the University of Virginia in sessions 42-44 (1865-1868), later practicing as a lawyer in Luray, Page County, Virginia.

The first minutes available are from November 8, 1912, with Sir Knight D. P. Lillard presiding as the Eminent Commander. There were fifty-six members on the rolls and L. Zirkle, previous Commander for 1896, 1902-1904, was the Recorder. During that Conclave they acted on two petitions for the Orders and one bill. The bill was for a 10-gallon tub and two ounces of tea. The Christmas observance that year was conducted in the Asylum.

On March 14, 1913, Sir Knight D.P. Lillard, Eminent Commander, called for a resolution to require those absent from the stated Conclaves to submit their excuses to the Recorder to be recorded in the minutes. At the following Conclave the resolution was rejected. There were great floods in the Ohio and Mississippi Valley that year, so the Commandery soon turned its attention to providing aid. The Most Eminent Grand Master of the Grand Encampment, Sir Knight William B. Melish, GM KTEH requested all financial aid be sent to him in Cincinnati, Ohio. Complimentary letters were received from the Grand Master and Grand Commander for conducting Christmas services this year.

In 1915, under the command of Sir Knight H.J. Studebaker it was claimed that Winchester Commandery had conferred orders on 6 or more Royal Arch masons who lived within the jurisdiction of Luray Commandery. The Recorder was ordered on August 13, to write Winchester Commandery as ask why they were conferred without first communicating with Luray. A response was received and read on November 12, 1915, asking Luray to “leave the matter open a little while longer when they can write something more definitely.” At the Conclave held January 14, 1916, the Recorder was again asked to write Winchester for a reply on the matter. In February of that year, after receiving an insufficient response, Luray appointed a committee of one, the Eminent Commander, to visit Winchester and resolve the matter. After that visit, Luray received a letter from the Winchester Recorder which mentioned that the Companions in question were from Woodstock, and that Winchester had jurisdiction over the matter. They submitted as evidence the number of Winchester members that lived in Woodstock from as far back as 1904. Winchester, after measuring the distance, discovered their error and responded in a letter to Luray on 15 April 1916. Luray crafted a letter, which is included in the minutes of May 12, 1916, acknowledging the error and volunteering to receive any portion of the petition fees Winchester saw fit to provide-there is no indication of funds ever being provided! Several more requests were made that year by Winchester Commandery for Luray Commandery to waive jurisdiction on petitioners which were granted.

From 1917-1922 the minutes of the Commandery were routine. It is interesting to note that during this time, the Commandery contracted with Luther masonic supplies to outfit the Commandery with uniforms for under $70.00 dollars. Sir Knights that could not afford their uniforms, paid the Commandery monthly until their bill was paid.

There are no minutes in the archives for the period 1923-1948. The minutes for the February 11, 1949, Conclave show the first short form opening of a Conclave. On Sunday, May 21, 1950, Luray Commandery joined with Harrisonburg Commandery No. 10 for Ascension Services. Fifty Sir Knights met at the Elkton High School and marched to the Elkton Presbyterian Church for a service presented by Rev. Robert S. Miles at 8:00am. The service cost of $40.00 was split between the two Commanderies.

At the July 14, 1950, Conclave, a committee was formed to assemble the uniforms of deceased members, and to purchase the same from the families. The uniforms were then made available to new members. The first Knight Templar School of Instruction was held on July 10th of that year with great success. In October of the same year, the General Order from the Grand Commandery establishing a “Regulation Uniform” was read and ordered to be made a part of the minutes. That order is not attached to the minutes of the evening but are found in the June 8, 1951, minutes. Audits of the Treasurer and Recorder in 1951 still show members of the Commandery making uniform payments to the Commandery.

The first recorded By Laws of Luray Commandery are found in the minutes of November 9, 1951. The Right Eminent Grand Commander approving the By Laws was Sir Knight Dan P. Sigourney. Dues were $2.00 per year. Fees for the Orders were $75.00, and $25.00 had to accompany the petition. The balance had to be paid prior to receiving the Order of the Red Cross. Possession of a uniform was optional. Once a member accepted election to any office, he agreed to provide himself with a Full-Dress uniform.

In a letter to the membership dated December 9, 1955, the Recorder explained the formation of the Knights Templar Eye Foundation and the Knights Templar Room in the George Washington National Memorial Building. Dues were raised from $3.00 to $5.00 that year to pay for the assessment.

By 1957, Luray Commandery had increased its membership to 105 Sir Knights. Luray Commandery held its first Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, April 17, 1960, at the Luray Carillion Bell Tower. The Bell tower is officially known as the Belle Brown Northcott memorial and was erected in 1937 in honor of Col. T.C. Northcott’s wife. In the minutes of May 13, 1960, the Easter Sunrise Service Committee reported that 350-400 people attended the Easter Sunrise Service. Attendance included one hundred Masons, sixty of which were Knights Templar with twenty-six in uniform. The event was attended by PGC Dr. J. Lewis Gibbs, who gave the address. The Luray High School band also performed, and the benediction was presented by Rev. J.W. Henderson.

On December 19, 1962, a special Conclave was held by Luray No. 19 for the purpose of conferring the orders. The location was moved to the Luray Elementary School due to the expected large attendance. Twelve Commanderies were represented, and the orders were conferred on thirty-two candidates with over 125 Sir Knights present.

On April 9, 1971, we find a documented discussion of revising the Commandery’s By-Laws in the minutes. The discussion the following month indicated that the By-Laws had not been revised since 1928. At the Conclave on August 13, 1971, a resolution was passed changing two articles: one, the dues amount and two, the petition fees. The By Law changes were unanimously approved by the membership on September 10th of that year. In 1982, Sir Knight Carlos Good read excerpts from the 1928 By Laws in open Conclave. A discussion then took place on whether a By-Law revision existed. Additionally, that year the officers of Luray were discussing the merits of physically and financially attending the three-day Knights Templar School being held in Farmville.

On August 12, 1983, a committee of five Sir Knights was appointed to review the By Laws. That committee reported back at the stated Conclave in December. The By Laws were read, discussed, and ordered to lay over for one month. The January Conclave was cancelled due to weather and the By Laws were again taken up in February of 1984 with unanimous approval. The Right Eminent Grand Commander that year, Sir Knight George B. Yeates, approved the By Laws on March 15, 1984. Later that year Luray Commandery elected its first documented Trustees for the organization: Sir Knight Clyde E. Dofflemyer (3-year Trustee), Sir Knight Carlos Good (2-year Trustee) and Sir Knight Leighton C. Harlin (1 year Trustee). No record could be found indicating a change of responsibility or dissolution of the Trustees.

In January 1984, the Recorder documented the first Pledge of Allegiance recited by the Commandery. In March 1990, Luray Commandery began the process of again revising its By Laws. This time the focus was to change the meeting date from the second Friday to the First Tuesday as it is now. No reasoning was provided for the change. The resolution was approved and sent to the District Deputy for his recommendation. In May, the audit committee recommended that the Commandery amend the By Laws to increase the dues which was taken up in June. This motion was ordered to lay over until July. This month the Recorder was told to send out notice of the By Law changes and on August 7, 1990, the monthly Conclave meeting date was changed to the fist Tuesday.

On Sunday, February 7, 1994, the Grand Commander, RE Commodore Dewey Elliot, Jr. along with two past Grand Commanders, the Grand Standard Bearer, and their wives, joined thirty members of Luray Commandery at Mt. Zion Church in Woodstock, Virginia. The purpose of the church attendance was to present the Rev. and Brother John B. Cooper, D. D., Pastor of Mt. Zion Church his credentials for the Holy Land Pilgrimage beginning on February 21st, 1994.

On November 3rd, 1998, Luray passed a motion to receive the funds from Harrisonburg Commandery No. 10 after review of Harrisonburg’s audit report. With its closing, the property of Harrisonburg Commandery was to remain in Rockingham Union Lodge. The records of the audit were to be made in a matter of the minutes, but no record was found. In Luray’s records of February there was mention of a letter from the Grand Encampment concerning the merger of Harrisonburg with Luray Commandery. On April 6, 1999, Harrisonburg Commandery No. 10 transferred its funds of $1589.52 to Luray thus rendering the Commandery dark. In June the same year, Luray set aside $832.50 from the Harrisonburg funds collected should Commandery No. 10 reorganize within the year. The funds were to be placed into a separate account. Due to potential bank penalties, the transfer never occurred.

No minutes could be found for the period 2000-2008. Perhaps this was due to Luray’s inability to get membership to attend the meetings. The first minutes in 2009 show that only 8 Sir Knights were in attendance. A few Sir Knights began affiliating from Winchester Commandery No. 12 to keep Luray open. The Commandery was dark for several months during the 2010 Chivalric year.

In 2011, Luray’s Standard Bearer, Sir Knight Joel D. Ratliff, Sr. was elected as the Grand Standard Bearer. It was noted in the June 7th meeting that Harrisonburg Commandery was meeting under dispensation. In 2013 Luray was struggling with its finances and Lafayette 137 granted it relief from its rent responsibilities. In 2014, the Commandery began recovering and reordered its officer jewels. Due to the monumental efforts of Sir Knight Raymond Mickey Moats as the Recorder and others, the efforts of the Sir Knights from Winchester began to pay off. Though many of the officer positions continued to be filled pro-temp, consistent minutes were again recorded. The By-Laws were updated to cover the Knighting costs that had been recently increased by the Grand Commandery. Meals provided before the Conclave by Ms. Brenda Mays provided significant funds to the Holy Land Pilgrimage fund that year.

In 2015 Sir Knight Raymond D. Steele was elected to honorary membership in Luray Commandery. Lady Sandy Ratliff was presented the Companion of the Temple award and the Eminent Commander, Sir Knight Dennis M. Haas earned his Silver Cordon for being the first line signer on six petitions. In 2017 Luray Commandery replaced its aging banner, rebuilt the triangular table for the Order of the Temple, and replaced the libation candelabras and goblets. In 2018, the Right Eminent Grand Commander, Sir Knight Joel D. Ratliff, Sr. presented Sir Knight Michael Goodwin his 50-year Veterans pin and certificate. Sir Knight Dennis M. Haas was elected to the Grand Line in 2018.

With attendance declining in 2019, Luray Commandery revised its By-Laws to move its Asylum from Luray to Front Royal. The necessary coordination was conducted with Winchester Commandery which gave its approval for the move. Luray added five new Sir Knights soon after and then the COVID pandemic struct. Early in 2020 Luray Commandery began meeting via Zoom. With the quorum reduced the previous year to five by the Grand Encampment, business meetings were conducted to pay the bills. The Commandery then entertained changing its name, but it was determined to be too soon and was dropped. Online meetings continued but changed platforms to WEBEX ®. The Grand Commander’s official visit and the Grand Conclave that year were conducted via Zoom.

Past Grand Commanders

Joel David Ratliff, Jr. 2018-2019

Knights Templar Cross of Honor

Leo H. Hoak 1973
Jimmy D. Davis 2019

By Sir Knight Jimmy D. Davis, KTCH