In September, 2001, St. John's Lodge 1 in New York loaned the precious Washington inaugural Bible to the Fraunces Tavern Museum for display. Located just a few blocks from the World Trade Center, the attacks of September 11 blanketed the area with dust, debris and rubble. Authorities cordoned off the area and the Brothers feared the priceless relic may have been damaged or lost. Two days later, Brother Tom Savini, Director of the Livingston Masonic Library, obtained a special escort to the Fraunces Tavern Museum, where he found the Washington Bible intact and unharmed.
