June 12 …

The Heroines of Jericho emerged in the 19th century as a women’s auxiliary within African American Prince Hall Freemasonry, particularly the Holy Royal Arch Masons branch of the Prince Hall system.

The organization combined ritual life, mutual aid, charitable work, and civic leadership among Black women who otherwise had limited access to formal public institutions. The strongest historical evidence indicates that Reverend Moses Dickson and Anjenetta Mahoney organized the first court — Saint Mary’s Court No. 1 — in St. Louis, MO on June 12, 1863.

Rather than operating under a single national governing body, the organization developed through independent state Grand Courts that supervised subordinate local courts within their respective jurisdictions. Membership eligibility traditionally extended to the wives, daughters, mothers, widows, and sisters of Prince Hall Royal Arch Masons.

The order drew its symbolism from the biblical story of Rahab, the “Heroine of Jericho,” who protected Israelite spies in the Book of Joshua. Members adopted Rahab’s scarlet cord as a symbol of protection, loyalty, and deliverance.

Courts of the order spread rapidly across Prince Hall jurisdictions in Missouri, Texas, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, and other states in the late 19th century. Missouri’s Grand Court was formally organized on May 18, 1874, and Michigan’s Grand Court on May 25, 1874. Florida’s Grand Court was established in January 1882, and Texas courts were established by the mid-1880s.

Like many other Black fraternal and mutual aid societies, the Heroines established sickness and burial funds, supported widows and orphans, organized fundraising campaigns, and sponsored educational and religious activities within Black communities. Surviving records from Saint Mary’s Court No. 1 show that local courts kept detailed minutes, elected officers, raised funds for relief efforts, and held memorial observances for deceased members.

In Texas and Missouri, Heroines’ courts organized scholarship drives, church support programs, food assistance, and funeral aid societies for their members. Through such efforts in cities such as Joplin, St. Louis, and Fort Worth, Heroines’ courts became important centers of Black middle-class community organization in the early 20th century.

Several notable African American women were associated with the Heroines of Jericho. Educator and civic leader Lillian B. Horace was a member of both the Heroines of Jericho and the Prince Hall Order of the Eastern Star while serving as an influential educator in Fort Worth, TX. Other documented members include activist and educator Vivian Osborne Marsh and civil rights-era community leaders in Texas and Missouri.

While membership declined in some areas after the civil rights era, many Grand Courts and local courts remain active today, upholding traditions of philanthropy, scholarship support, youth mentorship, and community service established by the Heroines of Jericho more than 150 years ago.

Selected Sources:

• Dickson, Moses. Court of Heroines of Jericho. St. Louis: privately published, 1895.
• Williams, Loretta J. Black Freemasonry and Middle-Class Realities. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1980.
• Muraskin, William A. Middle-Class Blacks in a White Society: Prince Hall Freemasonry in America. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975.
• State Historical Society of Missouri. Heroines of Jericho, Saint Mary’s Court No. 1 Collection, 1891–1903. St. Louis Research Center.