Exposed to the misery and suffering of war, he urged his fellow Masons, "...that some permanent measures could be adopted by the Grand Lodge to establish a fund which should at all times be open to supply the wants of the poor and the distressed..."

Such a fund did emerge - and under unusual circumstances.  In 1871, when the city of Chicago was struggling to rise from the ashes of the Great Fire, Connecticut Masons, like others throughout the country, rallied to aid of their Chicago brothers with a donation of money.  Later, $332 was returned.

The Connecticut Masons elected to use this money as the genesis of a charitable fund.  This same fund eventually purchased the original 88-acre homestead of woodlands and farmland dedicated on September 28, 1895 as a home to aid those in need.  Eighteen admissions were recorded that first year.  In 1899, part of a three-story addition was designated as an infirmary.  The first full-time nurse became a permanent staff member in 1900.  Hospital wards were in 1919 and other new wards in 1926.  Decades of growth included a medical staff with interests added in senior medicine.

In 1966, soon after Medicare was introduced, Masonic Home and Hospital became one of the first long-term care providers to be accepted into the program by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

Throughout the 70s and 80s, The Masonic Charity Foundation was actively fulfilling its commitment to care by adding more healthcare services and building more skilled nursing facilities and retirement living communities.

The most significant achievement, however, came in 1983 when all these services became available to the public.  In 1995, this great continuum of care became Masonicare.

As it did in the beginning, The Masonic Charity Foundation of Connecticut continues to support our ability to serve and care for others.  Today, Masonicare's community of care serves more than 2,500 people statewide each day with the same compassion, caring and commitment that began over a century ago.