Mt. Moriah Lodge No. 11* had its beginning in the Westsound community when the development of the area was in its infancy. The town of Shelton had not been born, although David Shelton and his family arrived in 1853 and occupied the 640 acre donation claim which in 1884 became the town site of Shelton.

At about the same time the Sheltons settled on the point, a William Morrow and his family along with other members of a party settled about two miles up the bay, where Morrow staked a donation claim. He called his settlement Oakland. It became the seat of Territorial county government and also had the post office and school.

In the years from 1853 to 1863 as the population grew the number of Masons with membership in other lodges had increased to the point where it was deemed expedient and practical to petition for a charter and form a lodge.

A petition for dispensation signed by William Champ, J. Mitchel Elson, J. L. Morrow, Joseph H. Misener, John T. Knox, M. T. Simmons and B. F. Shaw, together with a letter of recommendation from Olympia Lodge No. 1 was submitted to M.W.M. Thomas M. Reed of the Washington Grand Lodge.

On January 18, 1864, lvi. W. Grand Master Reed issued a dispensation authorizing the above named brothers to proceed with the business of making Masons at Oakland.

Mount Moriah No. 11 at Shelton in Mason County was chartered at "Oakland" on November 29, 1864.

*Excerpted from 100 Years in Shelton