Two lodges (Owyhee No.5 and War Eagle No.6, both chartered in 1868) consolidated in 1881 to form Silver City Lodge No.13.
While there were many communications which drew a large attendance, there were others at which it was difficult to gather a quorum from among the thirty-odd members scattered from southern Idaho…for this reason several Grand Masters were generous in granting dispensations to enable the Lodge to meet outside its jurisdiction and to conduct business with five member quorum. In the mid-forties several efforts were made to move the seat of the Lodge to some southwestern Idaho community where there was a potential for new members. Various locations were suggested; among them, Grandview and Homedale in Owyhee County, Nampa and Boise…
About this time a schism developed among some of the members. Many were in favor of any move, several wished to maintain the seat of the Lodge where it was. Personalities entered into the deliberations as did the frequency of the requests of dispensations. The Lodge seemed divided into two camps–those who wanted to move preferably to Homedale… and those who wanted to keep the charter firmly and permanently locked in Owyhees.
It might have taken several years yet for the Lodge to resolve this stalemate had not each of the two groups not decided to hold their own communication in the summer of 1949–one legally by dispensation outside the jurisdiction of the Lodge and the other illegally in Silver City. Neither had a quorum. In order to get the problem of location settled, the Grand Master ordered the Lodge to accept no further petitions of any type. The first stated communication held in Homedale was on August 13, 1949. In a few months the Officers satisfied the Grand Master as to their proficiency and the restrictions on accepting petitions were lifted. In seven years the membership of thirty three more than doubled.
For more Idaho Masonic history see the Grand Lodge of Idaho History website.